Connacht 52

Lyon 24

By JOHN FALLON AT DEXCOM STADIUM

Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins hailed the performance of scrum-half Ben Murphy whose maiden season in Galway continues to improve as he ran in a hat-trick of tries to maintain their perfect start to the Challenge Cup.

Connacht’s league form may leave a lot to be desired but they have a genuine chance now of having a crack at the Challenge Cup which could turn a dismal season into a glorious one.

Nine of the Connacht squad which thrashed a depleted Lyon side at Dexcom Stadium on Saturday night may be originally from Leinster, but Murphy continues to be the poster boy for making the move west as they chalked up a third bonus point win in the Challenge Cup.

Murphy is the most recent of the Leinster brigade to head to Galway for game-time, a brave move given that Caolin Blade was coming off the bench last summer to help Ireland to victory over South Africa in Durban, and two other local scrum-halves Matthew Devine and Colm Reilly were chomping at the bit for game-time after impressing with victorious Irish U-20 sides.

But the 23-year old has quickly risen to top of the pile at Dexcom Stadium and his hat-trick against Lyon takes his haul to seven in ten league and cup games, having also crossed for a brace in a pre-season clash with Sale.

“There’s a reason he’s getting so many minutes this season since he came through the door in pre-season,” said Wilkins.

“His score skills are fantastic. His passing and kicking game, he’s a standout in that respect, and his fitness scores are through the roof.

“And what that means is he enables us to play super fast. And to be fair to him, he’s not relented. And, there’s some pretty good nines there, especially with Caolin Blade, who were pressuring him for minutes. And Ben has continued to step up. So for him to get the three tries, I was absolutely delighted for him.”

Pictured: Scrum half Ben Murphy on his way to scoring Connacht’s first try against Lyon in Saturday’s European Challenge Cup encounter at Dexcom Stadium. Photo: Iain McDonald.