Peter Burke
Connacht’s ambitions for a place in the Investec Champions Cup next year were dealt an almost fatal blow as they lost 16-12 to the Stormers at the Sportsground.
Connacht will need a bonus-point win away to Leinster in the RDS, the weekend after next if they are to have any chance of progressing to the URC knockout stages and even then their fate is out of their hands, so its unlikely, but that phrase is always there – ‘So you’re telling me there’s a chance’
Surprisingly that was the first win for the Stormers in Ireland,their sixth attempt, and effectively sealed their place in the quarter-finals.
Early in the game Connacht should’ve been awarded a penalty when Aki was taken out off the ball but none of the match officials picked it up when everyone else did commentators included.
Anyway Libbok opened the scoring with a penalty midway through the first half, the first points of the game.
Soon after Tiernan O’Halloran was turned over having taken a quick quickly inside the visitors’ 22, Davids missed out on a try accelerating down the touch line when TMO Stefano Penne spotted Warrick Gelant’s forward pass, correct call by the TMO and the try was rightly chalked off.
Connacht took a tap penalty close to the Stormers line on the half-hour mark, we all thought Aki had gotten over from close range but he was stopped short but the ball was recycled and scrum-half Blade ducked his way over from a ruck and Jack Carty added a well-struck conversion.
It was a scrappy affair with handling errors from both sides combining to near double figures.
The Stormers though, for all their play, remained try-less despite a couple of decent efforst and line breaks from Damian Willemse and a late lineout maul.
The second half was better for the Stormers and they were back to their clinical best with the wind at their backs in the 50th minute. Libbok benefitted from Gelant’s offload rush the Connacht defense and send the supporting Davids over, with Libbok converting to make it 10-7.
Unfortunately for the Stormers’ and all too frequent their indiscipline was terrible and all this achieved was to the benefit of Connacht. A good passage of play off a maul platform, Sean Jansen and Bundee Aki carried with determination before Aungier reached over from close range.
Oisin Dowling’s brilliant turnover penalty ensured the Stormers were nilled from that attack but Libbok brilliantly nailed a 45-metre penalty to put just a point in it at 13-12.
A scrum penalty though in a kickable position on the park allowed Libbok to split the posts again four minutes later and a series of knock-ons made for a frustrating finish for Connacht, whose play-off hopes are on Life support.
Final score in the Sportsground – Connacht 12 – 16 Stormers