It all goes wrong for Connacht

Connacht simply weren't good enough. Flattered by a 13-0 interval lead, they disintegrated after the interval at the Sportsground, allowing Edinburgh a 30-point haul in the second 40 minutes.

The home side will probably never make as many unforced errors again, nor should their line-out be so utterly haphazard. Edinburgh did score three second half tries but their victory was facilitated by Connacht's shortcomings.

While there was much to admire about Connacht's defence in the first half, it was difficult to escape the feeling that when Edinburgh finally engaged a little grey matter and stopped running laterally, the home side would be under pressure. Connacht had survived by dint of their organisation and application: those virtues would desert them in the second half. Coach Steph Nel probably realised his side were making too many unforced errors, even when leading 13-0 on the scoreboard. Too often a Connacht player forced the issue in trying to offload before the tackle and given that they were limited to sporadic attacks in the first half, they could ill afford that profligacy.

Eric Elwood was an honourable exception. He was responsible for Connacht's try in the first half, a little show of the ball before breaking a tackle and linking with Pat Duignan for the right wing to canter over. Elwood frequently broke the gain line but did not have the support and the resultant ruck ball was too slow.

Therein lay another problem for the hosts: they failed to clear out Edinburgh players at rucks. Scrumhalf Chris Keane was therefore under tremendous pressure as Scottish hands clawed at his jersey. Edinburgh's technique in this respect was considerably more accomplished and this allowed them to force numerous turnovers.

Few would have predicted the magnitude of the home team's second half collapse. Until hard working number eight Des Dillon forced his way over for a try three minutes into injury time at the end of the game, Connacht had just an Elwood penalty to show for their post-interval labours.

The visitor's outhalf Gordon Ross had missed a couple of straightforward first half penalties but he finally landed a brace after the re-start and also converted a try from centre Calvin Howarth. It came when Connacht committed a double error, Keane being turned over in possession and replacement Mark McHugh going for an intercept and missing.

The match appeared delicately poised at 13-13 but the momentum was clearly with the Scots. They kicked long, wreaked havoc with the Connacht lineout and played the game in or just outside the Connacht 22. They then waited for errors and these materialised amid a host of second half changes by Nel.

Graham Dall grabbed his team's second try on 65 minutes after a fine break by Howarth. Hodge converted as he would do again on 70 minutes, after replacement left wing Derrick Lee crashed over.

Hodge added another penalty before Dillon's injury time try which Elwood could not convert.

For Connacht, Jim Ferris enjoyed a lively game out of position on the left wing, the centres tackled strongly and fullback Gavin Duffy made one or two promising incursions into the line: but even he was not immune to the fumble.

Up front the pack toiled hard, Marnus Uijs was conspicuous in the loose, Rowen Frost and Paul Neville working hard but technically they were outplayed by Martin Leslie and the excellent Simon Taylor. Connacht need to improve considerably before the trip to Thomond Park on Tuesday night.

Scoring sequence: 23 mins: Elwood penalty, 3-0; 28: Duignan try, Elwood conversion, 10-0; 35: Elwood penalty, 13-0. Half-time 13-0. 42: Ross penalty, 13-3; 57: Ross penalty, 13-6; 59: Howarth try, Ross conversion, 13-13; G Dall try, Hodge conversion, 13-20; 69: Elwood penalty, 16-20; 70: D Lee try, Hodge conversion, 16-27; 79: Hodge penalty, 16-30; 83: Dillon try, 21-30.

CONNACHT: G Duffy; P Duignan, D Yapp, T Allnutt, J Ferris; E Elwood, C Keane; D McFarland, M Uijs, P Bracken; R Frost, M McConnell (capt); M Swift, D Dillon, P Neville. Replacements: M McHugh for Yapp 45 mins; J O'Connor for Neville 53 mins; T Kearns for M Uijs 55 mins; D Browne for Frost 65 mins; E Reddan for Keane 65 mins; R McCormack for McFarland 65 mins.

EDINBURGH: C Paterson; C Murray, M Di Rollo, C Howarth, C Sharman; G Ross, I Fairley; A Jacobsen, S Scott, C Smith; M Jolly, R Metcalfe; D Mackinnon (capt), S Taylor, M Leslie. Replacements: A Dall for Jolly 60 mins; G Dall for Mackinnon 60 mins; D Hodge for Ross 63 mins; D Lee for Sharman 63 mins.

Referee: R Davies (Wales)