Connacht 15-10 Glasgow Warriors

Kyle Rowe’s brace ultimately proved in vain for Franco Smith’s squad, who picked up a losing bonus-point as they remain top of the BKT United Rugby Championship standings.

With the pre-match downpours having just about ceased by the time referee Ben Breakspear blew his whistle to get proceedings underway, it was the Warriors who made most of the early running. An emphatic chargedown in Connacht territory was just one of Jare Oguntibeju’s introductions to his hosts, whilst Kerr Yule’s deft handling in midfield was causing some early trouble for the men in green.

Connacht quickly found their feet in front of the Dexcom Stadium crowd, however, refusing to give an inch in defence and probing for a gap whenever in possession. With 24 minutes on the clock, it would be the hosts who would open the scoring, Sam Gilbert slotting a penalty from 35 metres to give his side a 3-0 lead.

The home side were now enjoying the lion’s share of possession and territory, as they searched for the opening try of the afternoon. They came closest as the match approached the half-hour mark, with only excellent goal-line defence from Oguntibeju and Dan Lancaster denying the charging Sean Jansen.

Neither side was able to find the key breakthrough as the half drew to a close, though not for a want of trying. Shane Jennings had to be alert to deny Kyle Rowe from Ben Afshar’s grubber kick ahead, whilst Ally Miller’s turnover of Joe Joyce brought Connacht’s last attack of the opening stanza to a close.

The opening to the second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with the Warriors the keenest to attack in the early exchanges. Once more though the Connacht defence held firm, Cian Prendergast coming up with a vital turnover to preserve his side’s advantage inside their own 22.

This time, though, Franco Smith’s men kept the momentum going. Time and again they would move through multiple phases inside the Connacht 22, and with Joe Joyce in the sin-bin for a high shot on Afshar, the Warriors struck. Adam Hastings – on early after an injury to Kerr Yule – and Lancaster would combine to give Rowe the metre of space he needed, the winger showing great strength to finish out wide under pressure. Hastings couldn’t quite navigate the Galway gale from the touchline, but the visitors held a 5-3 lead as the game ticked into the final quarter.

If Rowe’s first was all about strength, his second was pac and footwork personified. Turnover ball in midfield courtesy of Sione Vailanu allowed Hastings to break the line, and when the ball was recycled to Lancaster, his cross-kick was perfectly measured for the chasing Rowe. Faced by two defenders on the 22, the winger duly sped around the outside of one before cutting back inside, touching down for a sublime score. The conversion was off target, leaving the scoreline at 10-3 in favour of the visitors as Joyce returned to the field.

Back came the hosts, and with six minutes to play the Irishmen set up a grandstand finish by crossing for their first try of the encounter. Paul Boyle was the man to make the crucial final carry and just about ground the ball next to the uprights, Gilbert making no mistake with the extras to level the scores at 10-10.

It was a grandstand finish that would go the way of the hosts, much to the dismay of the travelling Warrior Nation. A last-ditch cover tackle from Ollie Smith and Stafford McDowall denied Cian Prendergast out wide, but from the resulting Connacht lineout the maul proved too much to stop. Jansen was the man to emerge with the ball as the hosts celebrated their first win at their newly redeveloped home, the Warriors having to make do with a losing bonus-point for their efforts.

A tough pill to swallow, but a performance with plenty to build upon – Smith’s men now have three weeks to prepare for the visit of second-place Leinster, the stage set for a top-of-the-table clash at Scotstoun.