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Connacht will look to continue their excellent Challenge Cup record against French opposition when they host Bayonne in Galway. - 05/12/2014 11:33
Connacht will look to continue their excellent Challenge Cup record against French opposition when they host Bayonne in Galway.
The Irish province have won eight of their nine fixtures against teams from across the Channel and will want that sequence to continue in a tightly-contested Pool 2.
All four sides have one win and one defeat to their name, meaning the upcoming double-headers could go a long way to deciding who ends up in the knock-out stages.
Connacht head into the clash buoyed by their Pro12 win over the Scarlets last weekend, but Pat Lam’s men have plenty of injury problems to contend with.
Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw is still recovering from the hip injury he suffered in the autumn Test win over Australia, while Quinn Roux is a doubt with a minor ankle problem.
Andrew Browne, Tiernan O’Halloran (both knee), Ian Porter (foot) and Niyi Adeolokun (ankle) are also sidelined for the visit of the Top 14 side. Henshaw is the most high-profile of those absentees, but Lam is confident his side can cope.
He said: “There is a lot of versatility in our backs when it comes to selection. Whichever game we are facing, we will work out the best gameplan, the best players to execute that.
“But that is the great thing, they can all play in different position. Guys need to be able to move around because we have a small squad compare to other teams.”
Bayonne wing Martin Bustos Moyano, meanwhile, has urged his team-mates to show a clinical edge.
“We showed some good things recently, but we are still missing something in the finer details. I think that we lack patience at times when we get to the opposition 22 and it is something we are working hard to improve and start taking our chances.”
Match Facts
- Connacht Rugby have won both meetings between these two sides in the Challenge Cup.
- Connacht have won eight of their last nine against French teams in the competition whilst Bayonne have lost three of their last four games against all opposition in this tournament.
- Bayonne’s Pierre Sayerse has made five clean breaks in the opening two rounds of the competition; no player has made more in the Challenge Cup this season.
- Connacht Rugby have the best discipline in the Challenge Cup this season in terms of penalties conceded as they have given away just seven penalties per game on average so far in the competition.
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Connacht Rugby kept the pressure firmly on Pool 2 leaders Exeter Chiefs as Pat Lam’s team punished Bayonne indiscipline at The Sportsground.
Their maximum points win took them to just one point adrift of the Chiefs and keep the group nicely on the boil.
Bayonne drew first blood with a fifth minute penalty goal by Argentine international full back Martin Bustos Moyano and he went on to add three more in the first half to account for all the French club’s points in the opening 40 minutes.
Connacht outside half Jack Carty opened the home account, also with the boot, before right wing Danie Poolman got in on the act with ball in hand.
He crossed for tries in the 19th and 39th minutes, Carty adding a conversion for a narrow three point half time advantage.
But Bayonne went back in front soon after the restart, prop Florian Lapeyrade ploughing over and scrum half Clement Otazo adding the extra points.
Lapeyrade blotted his copybook when he was yellow carded, Carty punishing him with his second penalty of the half.
And there was more to come in the prop’s absence, centre Bundee Aki crossing for their third try, Carty converting, before fellow centre Dave McSharry banked the bonus point with Connacht’s fourth try with 11 minutes to spare.
But they were not finished, Willie Faloon soon following him over the Bayonne line as the Irish club ran riot.
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