Connacht 14

Bulls 28

By JOHN FALLON AT DEXCOM STADIUM

CONNACHT head coach Pete Wilkins said they paid a big price for a slow start as the Bulls took control from the outset and wrapped up this URC clash at Dexcom Stadium when building a 28-0 lead before the final quarter.

The home team rallied in the final quarter on Saturday and there were faint of hopes of salvaging a bonus point but the gap was much too big to bridge, with Wilkins lamenting a poor start.

“I thought that set a tone,” said Wilkins. “I think as well then, just our inaccuracy when we did get possession, it was a long time before we got some meaningful attacking sets and we weren’t persistent enough, in terms of stringing those phases together to do any damage.

“So I think across the game, we had something like 37 tackle breaks, which is incredibly high, and yet that translated only into the two tries. So disappointing both sides of the ball, and, you know, the Bulls were able to exert their strengths on us.

“I thought that was disappointing. I thought, whilst there were some individual contacts that were better, I just thought across that first 20 minutes, we lacked the sting although acknowledging that the Bulls are gonna get dominant carries at times, and that’s perhaps inevitable. But at the same time, we need to do a better job of slowing down the breakdowns to give ourselves a chance to organise.”

Though both sides finished with 14 men, it was Connacht who played almost three-quarters of the game down a man and the Bulls were out of sight by the time they too were reduced to 14 men after 56 minutes.

The Bulls got on top from the start on a wet evening in Galway and they dominated the opening quarter with 85% possession as Connacht just could not get their hands on the ball.

Connacht managed to limit the damage to 7-0 in that period but they were struggling to stay in the game, not helped by indiscipline which gifted the Bulls ample penalty opportunities.

Pictured: Connacht’s Paul Boyle leading this charge against the Vodacom Bulls during Saturday’s United Rugby Championship tie at Dexcom Stadium. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.