Muldoon leads Connacht to win
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:09
Despite trailing at half time Connacht produced a powerful second half showing to come from behind and secure a 30-12 win over Dax in their European Challenge Cup opener on Friday night.
John Muldoon's men came into the game full of confidence following their great performance against Leinster in the domestic league recently but had to wait for the second half before they could take control of the game.
The result, away from home, represents the perfect start to the new European campaign for Michael Bradley and his team.
The French club, who currently sit in 12th place in the Top 14, led 12-7 after the first forty minutes. Tries from fullback Laurent Diaz and right wing Bruno Hiriart, with a single conversion from No. 10 Maxime Petitjean, would no doubt have given them some great confidence heading into the half time but, ultimately, it was not to be their night.
Connachts' only response in the first half was a try by wing Daniel Riordan but, despite having not been at their best, they were still very much within touching distance as the teams paused for the break.
Dax simply had no answers in the second half. Three penalties from flyhalf Ian Keatley, and two tries from flanks Muldoon and Johnny O’Conner, helped the Magner League side completed a well earned Cup win.
Scorers:
Dax:
Tries: Diaz, Hiriart
Con: Petitjean
Connacht:
Tries: Riordan, Muldoon, O’Conner
Con: Keatley 3
Pen: Keatley 3
Teams:
Dax: 15 Laurent Diaz, 14 Bruno Hiriart, 13 Laurent Marticorena, 12 Duncan Bell, 11 Paul Albaladejo, 10 Maxime Petitjean, 9 Jean Baptiste Pezet, 8 Pierre Caillet (captain), 7 Vincent Deniau, 6 SW Goodwin, 5 Anthony Mazel, 4
Cédric Guironnet, 3 Jérémy Castex, 2 William Bonet, 1 Julien Brugnaut.
Replacements: 16 Mattin Auzqui, 17 Jimmy Jaen, 18 Christopher Poulain, 19 Jean-Baptiste Cros, 20 Justin Pendanx, 21 Florian Argel, 22 Jordi Rouge.
Connacht: 15 Fionn Carr, 14 Liam Bibo, 13 Gavin Duffy, 12 Mel Deane, 11 Michael Roberts, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Frank Murphy, 8 Colm Rigney, 7 Johnny O'Connor, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Adrian Farley, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Robbie Morris, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Joe Merrigan, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Andrew Browne, 19 Ray Ofisa, 20 Kieran Campbell, 21 Troy Nathan, 22 John Hearty.
