THE EUROPEAN CHALLENGE Cup may yet save Connacht’s season and they have given themselves every chance of having home advantage all the way to the final after hammering Lyon at Dexcom Stadium.
The win guarantees top spot in Pool 1 even before Connacht head to Cardiff next weekend for the final game.
Ben Murphy, who signed a contract extension during the week, scored a hat-trick to take his haul to seven in ten games since his summer move from Leinster.
Ben Murphy scores his side's fourth try. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Connacht got on top from the outset and raced into a 19-3 lead after 18 minutes against a Lyon side who made 14 changes to the team which edged out Perpignan in a home relegation tussle last weekend.
Connacht got a dream start when captain Cian Prendergast intercepted a pass from Italian scrum-half Martin Page-Relo as Lyon attacked and he quickly sent Murphy away from the 22 with the scrum-half scoring under the posts when he managed to escape the clutches of winger Vincent Rattez to score under the posts after less than two minutes.
Page-Relo pulled back a penalty for a Lyon side who also came into this contest having won both their opening games when he converted from the right after Dave Heffernan was pinged for a maul offence to make it 7-3 after 12 minutes.
Shamus Hurley Langton makes ground. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Lyon built on that but when flanker Marvin Okuya went offside despite warnings from referee Hollie Davidson when they looked set for a 50:22, Connacht made them pay. Out-half Josh Ioane found touch five metres from the line down the left and after Prendergast won the lineout, Connacht got the drive before No 8 Sean Jansen peeled away to score after 15 minutes.
Three minutes later another good drive off a lineout ended after a few phases with tighthead Finlay Bealham getting over, with Ioane’s conversion making it 19-3.
However, Lyon hit back and while they butchered a couple of promising lineouts in the corners as Joe Joyce and Prendergast pilfered, the French got the set-piece right after 23 minutes and Fijian hooker Sam Matavesi got over, with Page-Relo converting from the right to cut the gap to 19-10 after Connacht lock Oisin Dowling had been binned.
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Ioane added a penalty six minutes from the break and then a turnover by him and Bundee Aki saw Connacht counter with a penalty and a few phases off the lineout saw Aki, Ioane and Chay Mullins combine to send Murphy over for his second try and wrap up the bonus point.
Fijian winger Semi Radradra was binned for taking out Mullins after the pass as Lyon started the second-half 27-10 behind and down a man.
Bundee Aki playing flanker. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Interval replacement Josh Murphy scored a minute and a half after the restart and then Aki and Chay Mullins combined to send Murphy through for his hat-trick to lead 37-10 after 46 minutes.
Thibaut Regard responded for Lyon but Connacht were on top in all the key areas and they extended their lead when another replacement Jack Aungier bulldozed over after another good lineout drive after 54 minutes.
A try from replacement hooker Guillaume Marchand eleven minutes from time gave Lyon the prospect of a try bonus point which would have kept the pool alive to the final round.
But it was Connacht who finished on a high with replacement hooker Dylan Tierney-Martin getting their eighth try seven minutes from the end.
Replacement scrum-half Caolin Blade got over in the final play but the score was scratched on review when Jordan Duggan was pinged for taking out a man off the ball.
But they continued to play with the clock in the red and a penalty to the corner ended with flanker Shamus Hurley-Langton driving over for their ninth try to complete the rout.
Scorers for Connacht: Tries: B Murphy (3), S Jansen, F Bealham, J Murphy, J Aungier, D Tierney-Martin, S Hurley-Langton. Cons: J Ioane (2). Pen: Ioane.
Scorers for Lyon: Tries: S Matavesi, T Regard, G Marchand. Cons: M Page-Relo (2), M Meliande. Pen: Page-Relo.
Connacht: Santiago Cordero; Chay Mullins, Piers O’Conor, Bundee Aki (Cathal Forde 72), Shane Jennings (David Hawkshaw 53); Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy (Caolin Blade 60); Peter Dooley (Jordan Duggan 60), Dave Heffernan (Dylan Tierney-Martin 53), Finlay Bealham (Jack Aungier 53); Oisin Dowling (Josh Murphy 41), Joe Joyce (Paul Boyle 60); Cian Prendergast (c), Shamus Hurley-Langton, Sean Jansen.
Lyon: Alexandre Tchaptchet; Semi Radradra, Josiah Maraku, Thibaut Regard (Alfred Parisien 55), Vincent Rattez; Fletcher Smith (Martin Meliande 41), Martin Page-Relo (Charlie Cassang 60); Hamza Kaabeche (Jermaine Ainsley 48), Sam Matavesi (Guillaume Marchand 48), Irakli Aptsiauri (Lyan Pakihivatau 53); Félix Lambey (c) (Killian Geraci 60), Tomas Lavanini; Steeve Blanc-Mappaz, Marvin Okuya (Pierre-Samuel Pacheco 55), Maxime Gouzou.
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Ben Murphy hat-trick helps Connacht to top spot in Pool 1
Connacht 52
Lyon 24
THE EUROPEAN CHALLENGE Cup may yet save Connacht’s season and they have given themselves every chance of having home advantage all the way to the final after hammering Lyon at Dexcom Stadium.
The win guarantees top spot in Pool 1 even before Connacht head to Cardiff next weekend for the final game.
Ben Murphy, who signed a contract extension during the week, scored a hat-trick to take his haul to seven in ten games since his summer move from Leinster.
Connacht got on top from the outset and raced into a 19-3 lead after 18 minutes against a Lyon side who made 14 changes to the team which edged out Perpignan in a home relegation tussle last weekend.
Connacht got a dream start when captain Cian Prendergast intercepted a pass from Italian scrum-half Martin Page-Relo as Lyon attacked and he quickly sent Murphy away from the 22 with the scrum-half scoring under the posts when he managed to escape the clutches of winger Vincent Rattez to score under the posts after less than two minutes.
Page-Relo pulled back a penalty for a Lyon side who also came into this contest having won both their opening games when he converted from the right after Dave Heffernan was pinged for a maul offence to make it 7-3 after 12 minutes.
Lyon built on that but when flanker Marvin Okuya went offside despite warnings from referee Hollie Davidson when they looked set for a 50:22, Connacht made them pay. Out-half Josh Ioane found touch five metres from the line down the left and after Prendergast won the lineout, Connacht got the drive before No 8 Sean Jansen peeled away to score after 15 minutes.
Three minutes later another good drive off a lineout ended after a few phases with tighthead Finlay Bealham getting over, with Ioane’s conversion making it 19-3.
However, Lyon hit back and while they butchered a couple of promising lineouts in the corners as Joe Joyce and Prendergast pilfered, the French got the set-piece right after 23 minutes and Fijian hooker Sam Matavesi got over, with Page-Relo converting from the right to cut the gap to 19-10 after Connacht lock Oisin Dowling had been binned.
Ioane added a penalty six minutes from the break and then a turnover by him and Bundee Aki saw Connacht counter with a penalty and a few phases off the lineout saw Aki, Ioane and Chay Mullins combine to send Murphy over for his second try and wrap up the bonus point.
Fijian winger Semi Radradra was binned for taking out Mullins after the pass as Lyon started the second-half 27-10 behind and down a man.
Interval replacement Josh Murphy scored a minute and a half after the restart and then Aki and Chay Mullins combined to send Murphy through for his hat-trick to lead 37-10 after 46 minutes.
Thibaut Regard responded for Lyon but Connacht were on top in all the key areas and they extended their lead when another replacement Jack Aungier bulldozed over after another good lineout drive after 54 minutes.
A try from replacement hooker Guillaume Marchand eleven minutes from time gave Lyon the prospect of a try bonus point which would have kept the pool alive to the final round.
But it was Connacht who finished on a high with replacement hooker Dylan Tierney-Martin getting their eighth try seven minutes from the end.
Replacement scrum-half Caolin Blade got over in the final play but the score was scratched on review when Jordan Duggan was pinged for taking out a man off the ball.
But they continued to play with the clock in the red and a penalty to the corner ended with flanker Shamus Hurley-Langton driving over for their ninth try to complete the rout.
Scorers for Connacht: Tries: B Murphy (3), S Jansen, F Bealham, J Murphy, J Aungier, D Tierney-Martin, S Hurley-Langton. Cons: J Ioane (2). Pen: Ioane.
Scorers for Lyon: Tries: S Matavesi, T Regard, G Marchand. Cons: M Page-Relo (2), M Meliande. Pen: Page-Relo.
Connacht: Santiago Cordero; Chay Mullins, Piers O’Conor, Bundee Aki (Cathal Forde 72), Shane Jennings (David Hawkshaw 53); Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy (Caolin Blade 60); Peter Dooley (Jordan Duggan 60), Dave Heffernan (Dylan Tierney-Martin 53), Finlay Bealham (Jack Aungier 53); Oisin Dowling (Josh Murphy 41), Joe Joyce (Paul Boyle 60); Cian Prendergast (c), Shamus Hurley-Langton, Sean Jansen.
Lyon: Alexandre Tchaptchet; Semi Radradra, Josiah Maraku, Thibaut Regard (Alfred Parisien 55), Vincent Rattez; Fletcher Smith (Martin Meliande 41), Martin Page-Relo (Charlie Cassang 60); Hamza Kaabeche (Jermaine Ainsley 48), Sam Matavesi (Guillaume Marchand 48), Irakli Aptsiauri (Lyan Pakihivatau 53); Félix Lambey (c) (Killian Geraci 60), Tomas Lavanini; Steeve Blanc-Mappaz, Marvin Okuya (Pierre-Samuel Pacheco 55), Maxime Gouzou.
Ref: Hollie Davidson (Scotland).
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