Connacht 42 Bayonne 19
A blistering closing passage by Connacht preserved their immaculate record at the Sportsground this season and set them up for what should be an interesting visit to Bayonne next week.
In the end, the French side took little convincing that the Sportsground was not to their liking but this was another demonstration of Connacht’s patience and cool decision making and self-belief.
Despite the stereotypical Galway weather, this was a hugely entertaining game, with both teams intent on playing rugby into the steady sheets of misty rain. Connacht just did it better. It wasn't as easy as the final score suggested, with a 46th-minute Florian Lapeyrede try leaving the visitors 19-15 ahead.
They are a huge side and looked murderous at times when they carried the ball but Connacht soaked up the pressure and, critically, coped with a sustained period of pressure deep in their 22 in the 56th minute.
Denis Buckley got the call on a collapsed scrum, Jack Carty relieved the pressure and two minutes later, Connacht, for the first time, got some traction on Bayonne's huge pack and were rewarded with both a penalty and 10 minutes in the bin for Lapeyrede.
That was the turning point. Carty landed a brilliant penalty and following the restart, Kieran Marmion launched a box kick which fell into no man's land as far as Bayonne's organisational capability went. Bundee Aki, a livewire all night, leaped to claim the ball and made a gleeful dash for his first Connacht try. After that, Connacht cut loose, with Dave McSharry and John Muldoon both scoring tries as the home team made pulverised the tiring Bayonne pack.
Ever the improvement-seeker, Pat Lam was reasonably happy with the outcome if not the journey.
“It was a good win . . . emphasis on good. We achieved the goal of looking after the Sportsground for 2014. Got the win and the bonus point. But we had too many troughs in that game. The pleasing thing was how the boys regrouped. But building to what is to come, we can’t afford those troughs. We need more consistency. The quality of the tries in those conditions was pleasing but we are forever trying to perfect and improve.”
Connacht did take a while to get going and got themselves into a hole by conceding the sort of penalties which were reminiscent of a few seasons ago.
Their first creative passage of play in the first half came in the 19th minute, when Mils Muliaina and Carty made half-breaks before Marmion sent Danie Poolman haring down the right wing with a perfectly judged box-kick.
After collecting the ball, scrumhalf Bastien Duhalde just about had time to look up in time to see the arriving Connacht pack swallow him up: Bayonne's clearance scarcely cleared the 22. It was only Connacht's second visit into the scoring zone and they made it count, keeping ball in hand until Marmion again found Poolman on the move and he danced uncontested to score under the French posts. Carty converted to match his 12th-minute penalty and after a quarter largely spent repelling the huge Bayonne pack and insistent Galway Bay squall, Connacht led 10-9.
The accuracy of Martin Bustos Moyano kept the visitors nicely ticking over and he twice fooled the officials by stealing several important yards as he set up for penalties in the 18th and 30th minutes. But Connacht stuck to their task, which was to make ground by keeping the ball in hand and they finished the half with a blistering spell.
Muliaina and Aki tore into the Bayonne big men and the speed and accuracy with which Marmion arrived to move Connacht onto their next phase of play was crucial in loosening and gradually breaking up the Bayonne resistance.
Poolman, in exuberant form all night, made to break for the line again in the 39th minute and then looped around as Aki and McSharry combined to send the South African in unopposed in the corner. Carty’s conversion attempt was appreciated by all but the wind and it finished 15-12 at the break. Bayonne’s try after the break was an upset but Connacht grew in composure and aggression over the last half hour.
“I think the big one was that we showed some clips at half-time of where the opportunities are and our defensive line too was really tight around the rucks and we were giving offloads away,” Lam said.
“But probably the biggest one in comparison to last week was the tackle quality. We weren’t as accurate. But once we improved that and put pressure on, we came home strong. These are key things we have to improve going over there. But these boys . . . you saw the size of them. Jeez, when they ran in at half time . . . they are massive boys. And it is easy for us about tackle quality but you are tackling guys who are 120 and 130 kilos and 6’ 8” monsters and that takes its toll.”
It does, but the cuts and bruises don't seem as sore when you are winning. Quinn Roux had a huge game for the home team and George Naoupu repeatedly halted the Bayonne big men as they tried to break out of their 22 during a madcap closing ten minutes.
The crowd loved it, 4,425 showed up for Connacht’s last home game of 2014 but they are bound to bring a bumper crowd when Leinster arrive here on New Year’s Day. Next up, though, is a return to Bayonne, when the French are sure to bring out the big guns for an 8.45pm rendezvous. There will be no love lost.
CONNACHT: M Muliana; D Poolman, B Aki, D McSharry, M Healy; J Carty, K Marmion; D Buckley, T McCartney, R Ah You; Q Roux, M Kearney; J Muldoon, E McKeon; G Naopu.
Replacements: M Swift for Kearney (6 mins), F Bealham for Ah You (63 mins), R Loughney for Buckley (63 mins), W Faloon for McKeon (66 mins), D Leader for M Healy (67 mins), C Ronaldson for J Carty, C Blade for Marmion (both 73 mins), D Heffernan for T McCartney (71 mins).
BAYONNE: M Bustos Moyano (C Otazo half-time); P Sayerse, L Foketi, S Vaka ( Loustalot 54 mins), J Elissalde; M Ugalde, B Duhalde; L Pointud (P Bruno 54 mins), S Labourie ( D Roumieu 56 mins), F Lapeyrade; D Senekal, L Fa'aoso; B Chouzneoux, C Ancely (A Iguiniz 65 mins); T Visensang.
Replacements: C Otazo for Bustos Moyano (half-time), C Loustalot for Vaka , P Bruno for Pointud ( 54 mins), D Roumieu for Labourie (56 mins), A Iguiniz for C Ancely (65 mins).
Referee: M Carley (England).
