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Brive host Connacht Rugby in what could be the decisive fixture in Pool 1 with three sides still in with a chance of topping the group. - 12/01/2016 12:39
Brive host Connacht Rugby in what could be the decisive fixture in Pool 1 with three sides still in with a chance of topping the group.
Current leaders Connacht have a two-point gap over second-placed Newcastle and third-place Brive, who have both won two and lost two of their opening four fixtures. A win for the Irish province would put them in pole position to win the pool as they host Enisei-STM in the final round of fixtures.
Connacht head coach Pat Lam is hopeful key player Robbie Henshaw will be available for this weekend’s trip to France but admits he could be without the Ireland international.
“We’ve got a couple of tough European games coming up, we’ve got to travel to Brive which will be a challenge.
Robbie Henshaw has had a scan and could return in a couple of weeks, it will be a tight call for the Brive game but he should be fine after that,” said Lam.
Brive have an excellent recent record against Connacht having won two of their last three fixtures against them. They could secure back-to-back Challenge Cup victories for the first time in exactly two years with a win over Connacht after winning 33-3 against Enisei in their last outing.
Connacht lost a dramatic clash against the Scarlets last weekend, losing 21-19 after a late Steve Shingler penalty robbed them of an away victory.
Match Facts
- Brive have won two of their last three matches against Connacht Rugby, though never has either team scored more than 22 points in any of those matches.
- Brive come into the match on the back of a win and they’ll be looking for consecutive victories in the Challenge Cup for the first time in exactly two years (16/01/2014).
- Connacht have won three of their last five matches away from home, including two wins against French opposition (Bayonne, La Rochelle).
- Connacht have won 12 of their last 13 matches against teams from France in the Challenge Cup, including a current streak of seven wins.
Il s'en est fallu de peu
Thomas Laranjeira kicked a last minute penalty to send Brive to a 21-18 triumph over Connacht after captain John Muldoon looked to have rescued a late draw.
Muldoon looked to have rescued an 18-18 draw with a try at the death, but the Brive centre kicked the last of his seven penalties in overtime to leapfrog the Irish side at the top of Pool 1.
Connacht got off to a dream start in France as they looked to put distance between themselves and Newcastle Falcons, who lost to Enisei-STM in Russia earlier in the day. Centre Perata burst through to score with just 40 seconds on the clock to put the Irish province into the ascendancy, but AJ MacGinty could not convert.
And they were made to pay for the missed conversion. Connacht were caught offside in their own 22, and Brive centre Laranjeira smacked over a penalty to cut the lead to two points. The French side showed their forward muscle moments later to earn a scrum penalty, and Laranjeira was on target again. He hit a third minutes later to give his side a 9-5 lead at the break.
MacGinty pulled three-points back after the break, only to be cancelled out by Laranjeira once again. But just when Connacht needed their leaders to stand-up, they got a try through captain John Muldoon. Some accurate offloading opened a window of opportunity, which the skipper took to crash over and give Connacht a 13-12 lead.
But the boot of Laranjeira came back to haunt Pat Lam’s men. The centre knocked over his fifth penalty shortly after the restart, and added a sixth when Connacht took the jumper out at a defensive lineout.
It looked as if Brive would kick themselves home, but Muldoon had other ideas. The captain crashed over for his second score to level the scores. But Carty missed the crucial conversion and the match looked like it was heading towards a draw. But Laranjeira was on target again to claim a 21-18 triumph.
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