This result could come back to haunt Connacht at the end of the season as they watched Rhys Patchell convert Joaquin Tuculet’s injury-time try to give the Cardiff Blues a dramatic 18-17 home win.
Connacht coughed up a six-point lead right at the death, as they defended furiously with lock Michael Kearney in the sin-bin. A combination of Cardiff persistence and referee Lloyd Linton’s interpretation of the breakdown gave the Blues enough of a platform to send Joaquin Tuculet through for his second try of the game.
Rhys Patchell coolly converted from the left to deny Pat Lam’s men their third PRO12 victory on the trot, but they only have themselves to blame as they failed to build a bigger lead during a fast-paced first half.
Jake Heenan’s try from a lineout maul was added to by five points from the boot of Craig Ronaldson, with a lone Patchell penalty being Cardiff’s only response before the break.
Connacht’s 10-3 advantage ebbed away after Argentinian international Tuculet raided in for his opening score which went unconverted. Patchell’s 64th-minute penalty had the hosts in front for the first time, only for the in-form Aly Muldowney to crash over on the end of a pulsating 30-phase move and Ronaldson’s conversion made it 17-11.
But there was a sting in the tail as Connacht kicked possession away in the dying minutes and a series of penalties, including Kearney’s sin-binning, invited Cardiff forward. John Muldoon seemed to get in for a legitimate turnover but referee Linton thought otherwise and the Blues duly put Tuculet over for the decisive seven-pointer.
An early turnover on the 4G surface had Connacht in trouble and it took a clever dummy and brilliant counter from Matt Healy to bring the visitors back up towards halfway during a lively opening spell.
Following a promising maul, Tiernan O’Halloran had a try ruled out for interfering with Patchell as they competed out wide for a Ronaldson cross-field kick. But a penalty advantage kept Connacht on the attack and from the resulting maul, flanker Heenan broke through for a well-worked try.
Ronaldson converted for a perfect start for Lam’s side and a big tackle by Rodney Ah You on Gavin Evans was another statement of intent. A breathless spell, sparked by a John Cooney break, produced some real end-to-end rugby with Healy, O’Halloran and Dave McSharry revelling in it.
Danie Poolman then cut a neat line into the 22 before another well-orchestrated maul set up a Ronaldson penalty for 10-0. Much to the home crowd’s approval, the Blues were quick to respond as Sam Hobbs got over a ruck ball and Patchell slotted the left-sided penalty to get them off the mark.
After a rare Mils Muliaina error gave Cardiff a decent scrum position, George Naoupu did well to intercept an Alex Cuthbert offload in his 22 and it was Connacht who remained on the front foot despite a couple of untimely knock-ons and a loose Muliaina pass.
A smashing break from Kearney had Connacht charging up to the 22, only for a Cooney knock-on at a subsequent ruck to spoil the attack. The Blues breathed a sigh of relief too when Ronaldson lost the ball forward after Connacht had won a second scrum against the head.
Connacht were unable to capitalise on their late pressure before the interval, and Cardiff took up the baton on the restart with scrum half Lloyd Williams tackled just short of the line after a powerful maul.
Cuthbert also had a try ruled out for a block by Evans on McSharry, with TMO Tim Hayes confirming the obstruction, but Cardiff were now in the ascendancy and looking the more dangerous side.
Their efforts paid off in the 57th minute after the initial inroads were made by a surging run from Cuthbert. The Blues retained possession from a penalty and space was created on the left for captain Ellis Jenkins to put Tuculet over in the corner.
Patchell pushed the difficult conversion to the right and wide before Cardiff gained ground from a scrum penalty – an area that Connacht had excelled in over the opening hour. They won a second penalty closer in and Patchell slotted the kick for an 11-10 scoreline.
With backs and forwards combining to very good effect, Connacht broke back into the Cardiff 22 in determined fashion and a terrific period of phase-building resulted in man-of-the-match Muldowney (pictured below) reaching over for his fourth try of the league campaign.
Ronaldson added the extras to nudge the province closer to the finish line. Little did they know what was to come as Cardiff hung in there and showed excellent control of the ball as they sought a try in response.
A kick downfield from a Connacht scrum allowed the Blues to counter and with Kearney seeing yellow for the increasing amount of penalties against the westerners, it was down to the 14 men to stand firm.
Muldoon, Tom McCartney and replacement Eoghan Masterson tried in vain to pinch ruck ball, but a couple of harsh refereeing calls went against the visitors. With the tiring defence stretched, Cardiff went for the kill in deepest injury-time and Tuculet (pictured below) and Patchell delivered the winning points.
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