Connacht 24

Cardiff 19

JOHN FALLON AT DEXCOM STADIUM

CONNACHT coach Pete Wilkins hailed the bravery of his men as they turned down a late penalty in front of the posts when they were level with Cardiff and went for the corner to nail the bonus point.

By then, they had surrendered a 19-0 lead in their search for a first win in five. The penalty from around the 22 was not a certainty into the teeth of the wind so JJ Hanrahan went for the corner and replacement hooker Dylan Tierney-Martin got over for their fourth try to snatch the spoils and the bonus point.

The 24-19 win gives a glimmer of hope to their URC qualification hopes although it will take something extraordinary at this stage for them to secure a top eight finish.

“We felt we needed to be brave,” said Wilkins. “We knew we wanted five points out of this. And I think our lineout and our maul was functioning pretty well at that stage. So there was confidence in that.

“We stayed on it and at the end, I think we just about deserved what we got. There was a good energy, and there was a real determination.

“We coughed up chances a couple of times but I think we knew how important this was. But there wasn’t panic and that was important.

“Everyone was well aware of the importance of this match and the implications. There was a huge understanding of the importance of this game. A couple of tight losses over the season had left us behind the pace a little bit, but we were really aware if we can get those five points tonight and another big job to do against Benetton in two weeks.

“If we get what we’re after in these two games, then all of a sudden you’re back in the conversation in the URC. It’s a whole different narrative around the group,” added Wilkins.

The four-match losing run saw them slip to second from the bottom prior to the start of this clash at Dexcom Stadium against a Cardiff side they will face again in April in a knockout match in the Challenge Cup, a competition they are really depending on now to rescue a season which promised so much but which has delivered so little.

They surrendered a 19-0 lead after 48 minutes to find themselves all square ten minutes from the end against a Cardiff side who had the wind behind them.

Piotured: Connacht’s Cathal Forde getting his pass away against Johan Mulder of Cardiff during Saturday’s URC tie at Dexcom Stadium. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.