RUGBY Grenoble 21 Connacht 26: Connacht added Grenoble to their growing list of French scalps and now take a five-point advantage into their European Challenge Cup quarter-final second leg next Saturday.
A near complete second-half performance in which they held the home side scoreless ensured the Irish province came away from the Stade Lesdiguières with the victory and high hopes of advancing to a second successive semi-final when they two sides in the Galway Sportsground next week.
After something of an erratic first half - not helped by the late withdrawals of Matt Lacey and Matt Mostyn - Connacht produced a dominant 40 minutes, frustrating Dean Richards' side with constant pressure. Number eight John Muldoon led the way with some outstanding first-up tackles while Michael Swift and Andrew Farley scrapped continuously in the loose. This coupled with some astute kicking from Eric Elwood and Paul Warwick with James Downey continuing to find the gap, Connacht ensured Grenoble were pinned inside their own half for much of the second half.
The rewards came eventually. Having fought their way back into the contest to close the gap to 21-13 at the break, Warwick potted a simple penalty after 52 minutes after Peter Bracken was denied a try for a double movement.
By then Connacht had successfully wrested the initiative and the pressure mounted on the French side who are struggling in 12th place in the French championship. Eight minutes later captain Andrew Farley crowned a good performance with the try which put Connacht into the lead for the first time. Downey had once again found space down the left wing before Ted Robinson rescued possession and it was Warwick who straightened the line to find Farley on his shoulder from five metres out.
Connacht should have scored again. Lock Pieter Myburgh, the unexpected recipient of fast third-phase ball, had lost possession with the line abegging, and Warwick was just inches away from touching down his own chip through.
In the end it did not matter as Warwick, having missed a difficult kick from the 10 metre line, stretched the lead to five points with an 83rd minute effort after Grenoble lock Karim Ghezal was yellow-carded.
It was a strong recovery for the Irish province having fallen behind by 18-3 midway through the first half. Grenoble, traditionally strong starters, were grateful recipients of some poor scrambled defensive work from Connacht. Although Connacht produced some good work it was spoiled by errors which proved costly, and this certainly was not helped by the late withdrawals of Matt Mostyn (hamstring) and Matt Lacey (thigh muscle).
As a result Brendan O'Connor, the former Ireland under-21 flanker, made his first start in a Connacht jersey, and Conor McPhillips took over at full back but alternated with Downey and centre Warwick in different phases of play.
A good start which saw Warwick put over a penalty from the 10 metre line after just three minutes was quickly negated by the concession of a try a minute later after Connacht dithered from the drop out and Tom Tierney's forced clearance resulted in a Grenoble counterattack.
Flanker Jullien Purcell and a quick offload to outhalf David Aucagne set up fellow French international, winger Jean Victor Bertrand with the easiest of his two first-half tries.
Struggling at the breakdown Connacht conceded several penalties, one of which Aucagne converted, but the real damage occurred when Bertrand scored his second try after 20 minutes. It came from deep in defence with Connacht attacking the Grenoble line, but when Aucagne intercepted Warwick's pass, Bertrand showed his pace when edging out Robinson in the race for the try line. Aucagne converted and added another penalty to give the home side a big lead.
Connacht fought their way back into the contest with Warwick and Aucagne exchanging penalties, but a try from Downey just before the break proved crucial. Elwood's chip had been intended for the corner, but when a Grenoble player got a hand to it, it bounced perfectly for Downey who raced in from 20 metres untouched.
This put a better complexion on the half-time score, and gave Connacht the confidence to outmuscle Grenoble in a strong second period - ensuring Connacht have the advantage going into the second leg.
SCORING SEQUENCE: Warwick pen 0-3; J Bertrand try 5-3; Aucagne pen 8-3; Betrand try, Aucagne con 15-3; Aucagne pen 18-3; Warwick pen 18-6; Aucagne pen 21-6; Downey try, Warwick con 21-13; Half time: 21-13; 52 mins: Warwick penalty 21-16; 60 mins: Farley try, Warwick con 21-23; 83 mins: Warwick pen 21-26.
Yellow card: K Ghezal (80 mins).
GRENOBLE: N Carmona; J Tiatia, R Lubbe, S Hufanga, J Bertrand; D Aucagne, Y Authier; S Petit, J Martin-Culet, R Martinez, J Blaikie, K Ghezal, P Laurent, J Puricelli, J Cudmore (capt). Replacements: A Fakaongo for Blaikie, S Rondinelli for Petit, S Cordingley for Authier (all 56 mins), G Ollivier for Laurent (77 mins).
CONNACHT: C McPhillips; J Downey, D Yapp, P Warwick, T Robinson; E Elwood, T Tierney; R Hogan, B Jackman, P Bracken, P Myburgh, A Farley, M Swift, B O'Connor, J Muldoon. Replacements: C Keane for T Tierney (inj, 47 mins), C Short for Myburgh (52 mins), A Clarke for Bracken (61 mins), P Bracken for Hogan (inj, 67 mins), J Fogarty for Farley (inj, 79 mins), N O'Brien for Muldoon (88 mins).
Referee: R Maybank (England).
