Connacht 34

Glasgow Warriors 26

By JOHN FALLON AT THE SPORTSGROUND

PROMISING Connacht centre Cathal Forde produced such an all-round performance that they scarcely missed Bundee Aki — and that’s according to the Scottish international who was playing opposite him at the Sportsground on Saturday.

Stafford McDowall, who made his Scottish debut during the summer, said that Forde has the potential to go a long way after another barnstorming performance.

The Galway city native, who will be 22 next Saturday, crowned another big display by anchoring the scrum when No.8 Jarrad Butler was binned and then took over the kicking duties when JJ Hanrahan was injured and duly landed all four kicks.

“Bundee Aki is up for World Player of the Year but I don’t think Connacht were missing him much today,” said McDowall. “Obviously Bundee does a lot for Connacht but Cathal played really well.

“I have played against him a couple of times over the last couple of years. He’s a good player and I think he has a big future ahead of him. He’s always tough to play against,” said the 25-year old Scot.

Forde, who made his debut against Glasgow in January 22 and had now played 15 times, did not allow a clanger which gifted Glasgow their opening try when he unsuccessfully tried to control a restart close to his own line.

Head coach Pete Wilkins said that Forde showed his composure by not allowing the mistake to impact on him. “I was delighted with him. I think Fordey goes from strength to strength. He was very good against the Ospreys last weekend and it was a step up for him against that Glasgow backline.

“And then there were the disruptions. He was asked to go in the scrum when we had the yellow card. He was always going to cover ten for us if anything happened to JJ and he took over the goalkicking. I was delighted for him and he continues to grow and that’s great,” said Wilkins.

Pictured: Connacht’s Diarmuid Kilgallen on his way to scoring a try against Glasgow Warriors during Saturday’s URC tie at the Sportsground. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.