Connacht Eagles played for more than an hour with 14 men but three second-half tries secured their first ever British and Irish Cup win as they defeated Cross Keys 31-16 at Dubarry Park.
Tadhg Leader, Eoghan Grace and Kevin O’Byrne all crossed for the Eagles, whose coach Nigel Carolan was thrilled that his side battled through.
After Stefan Jones had given Keys a great start with two good kicks the Eagles were dealt a huge self-inflicted blow in the 18th minute when Kiwi tighthead Rodney Ah You was shown a straight red card for punching.
Connacht upped their game after the dismissal as Tadhg Leader got them back to 9-9 at the break and they duly pushed on from there.
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