PRO 12:MATCHES BETWEEN Connacht and the Dragons have usually gone the way of the home side, and that record continued last evening when Connacht returned to winning ways at the Galway Sportsground.
Connacht found themselves 13-3 behind after an insipid first-half display, but they took over after the break, played all the rugby, and deservedly took their third win of this season’s RaboDirect Pro 12.
Not since 2003/’04 had Connacht lost at home to the Newport-Gwent side, but it looked decidedly possible when a physical Dragons looked to have a stranglehold going into the second half.
The visitors had started brightly with a penalty from outhalf Jason Tovey in the third minute, but thereafter Connacht, through their scrum and line-out, secured sufficient possession to take control territorially.
The reward was three penalties, one of which outhalf Niall O’Connor successfully kicked after number eight Andrew Coombs was pinged for a high tackle. The third penalty Connacht attempted to drive for the line but, opting to go wide, the move broke down just yards from the line. Right wing Brian Tuohy was also hauled down by a disciplined Dragons defence.
In contrast, the visitors took advantage of Connacht’s lacklustre defence as gaping holes started to appear. A break from Matthew Pewtner provided the visiting side with momentum, and prop Nathan Williams finished off, driving through in the 31st minute for a try.
With their tails up, the Dragons continued to stymie Connacht at the breakdown and Tovey edged them further in front with a 33rd minute penalty for a deserved 13-3 lead.
However Connacht’s urgency increased in the second half as the forwards started to gain the ascendancy, and with Mike McCarthy secure in the line-out, Connacht found their feet.
The reward came in the 56th minute when centre Eoin Griffin finished off in the left corner and replacement outhalf Matthew Jarvis converted, closing the gap to three points.
Nine minutes later, Gavin Duffy crossed out wide after the forwards, led by John Muldoon, had made the hard yards. With the Dragons denied possession, Connacht continued to dominate and although they could not add to their score, they did enough to regain their winning momentum in front of 3,700 at the Sportsground.
CONNACHT: G Duffy (c); T O’Halloran, E Griffin, JH Fa’afili, B Tuohy; N O’Connor, F Murphy; B Wilkinson, E Reynecke, R Ah You; D Gannon, M McCarthy; J Muldoon, J O’Connor, R Ofisa. Replacements: R Louhgney for Wilkinson, A Flavin for Reynecke (both 48 mins), M Jarvis for O’Connor (55 mins), O’Donohoe for Murphy (56 mins), D Roges for Ah You (56 mins), TJ Anderson for Ofisa (62 mins).
DRAGONS: M Thomas; M Pewtner, P Leach, A Smith, G O’Driscoll; J Tovey, J Bedford; N Williams, T Willis (c), D Way; A Jones, R Sidoli; L Evans, G Thomas, A Coombs. Replacements: T Riley for P Leach (36 mins), N Buck for D Way (51 mins), R Buckley for Willis (64 mins), D Waters for G Thomas (71 mins), J Groves for Jones (75 mins).
Referee: L Hodges (WRU).
