The four times Heineken Cup champions, playing in front of a home crowd of 18,508, crossed for four tries to keep them at the top of Pool 6 ahead of their final Pool game away to Gloucester next weekend.

But the aristocrats of European rugby did manage to put their shock defeat to Harlequins in the last round of the Pool behind them and are in pole position to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Wing Timoci Matanavou grabbed a brace of tries for the former champions, with full-back Maxime Medard and No 8 Louis Picamoles adding the other scores but the French side went in only 10-3 ahead at half-time.

Connacht’s fly-half Niall O’Connor gave the Irish province, who are in the first season of Heineken Cup rugby and who have yet to win a game in the tournament, the dream start when he scored the game’s first points after 15 minutes.

But the home side, who dominated at the scrum, soon found their rhythm when Matanavou gathered Medard’s up and under to score the game’s first try midway through the first half.

Medard was then the beneficiary of a pinpoint crosskick by All Black fly-half Luke McAlister to stretch the home side’s lead just before the break. Picamoles crashed over from short-range after a quick tap penalty after Connacht’s scrum buckled repeatedly on their own line.

Medard, who was named man of the match, then completed his own impressive performance when he took a quick penalty to put wing Matanavou over for his second try to secure the victory.