Connacht’s bright start fizzles out as bonus point proves beyond them

Connacht 14 Dragons 9

Still far from perfect, unlike last year’s Pro 12 winning side, Connacht are taking the positives of a win without a bonus point in their hunt for the top six.

Having dominated territory, possession and scoring chances, Pat Lam’s side ended this Sportsground fixture clinging to victory. It did ensure they closed the gap on Cardiff and Glasgow to maintain their recent momentum, but it also highlighted the struggle Connacht are facing to regain last season’s confident championship-winning form.

“We didn’t perform the way we should have to make the most of the opportunities we had,” says Lam. “It is fine lines. Ultimately we are judged on performance. Certainly a lot better than we have been, and defensively one of the better in keeping teams out. We had lapses in the past and in this game we had three or four big scrambles which highlights the character, but all obviously disappointed.”

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Connacht’s 96 per cent tackle count ensured a first try clean sheet this season, but their failure to secure clean line-out possession and produce last season’s clinical finishing had then under pressure despite the best possible start.

“It was the first time this season we have stopped anyone crossing our line which had been frustrating, the amount of teams that have scored soft tries against us. We scrambled well and our defence was good, but work ons? There is no doubt we lost a point there.

“You still have to make good decisions. It’s not about line-breaking, that’s good, but the work you still have to do to finish them off, and some decision making, when to pass, offload, the timing of runs, miss-passing, timing of passes when it should be put it through the hands, all those decisions added up to a disjointed second half.

“It is not our standard. We had the opportunity before half time to put the game away and then the next 40 minutes to do so. The fact that we left it to the last play, and it could have gone either way, we only have ourselves to blame,” said Lam.

A bonus-point win had looked promising when fullback Tiernan O'Halloran scampered across the line in the fifth minute after Matt Healy had collected a long pass on the left wing. Centre Craig Ronaldson, on kicking duty for the first time since returning from injury, added the conversion to put Connacht in front.

Nine minutes later Connacht had grabbed another after prop Denis Buckley turned over possession inside their own half. O' Halloran and Niyi Adeolokun took play inside their opponents' 22 and scrumhalf Caolin Blade, a replacement for Kieran Marmion who had been on Ireland training duty on Friday, snaffled possession to dash through for the second, with Ronaldson again converting.

However Connacht were not to score again, despite creating several clear-cut chances, and that failure gave the visitors hope as they lifted their game in the second half. They fought back with a penalty from replacement outhalf Angus O’Brien to narrow the deficit to 14-6, and when when he added another after 51 minutes, Connacht found themselves just a score in front, having dominated possession and territory.

CONNACHT: T O'Halloran; N Adeolokun, T Farrell, C Ronaldson, M Healy; J Carty, C Blade; D Buckley, D Heffernan, F Bealham; U Dillane, Q Roux; S O'Brien, J Heenan, J Muldoon (c). Replacements: J Cooney for Blade, T McCartney for Heffernan ( both 56), N Fox-Matamua for Dillane (62), J Cannon for Roux (68) R Parata for Ronaldson (76), J Cooney for Bealham and R Loughney for Buckley (77),

NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS: T Prydie; A Hughes, T Morgan, A Warren, P Howard; D Jones, T Knoyle; S Hobbs, E Dee, B Harris; N Crosswell, R Landman; O Griffiths, N Cudd, L Evans (c). Replacements: A O'Brien for Jones (14), C Hill for Landman (41), T Davies for Hobbs, L Fairbrother for Harris (both 60), S Beard for Warren (67), S Pretorius for Knoyle and H Keddie for Griffiths (both 77).

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales).