Assertive Connacht prevent Sharks attack to book quarter-final
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Connacht Rugby secured their spot in the Challenge Cup quarter-final thanks to an impressive second-half performance against Sharks.
The Irish saw off the Sharks 29-12 on Friday night as they secure qualification for the final eight.
It was a tightly contested first-half in Galway as the Irish stepped things up in the second period.
Both sides looked solid across the park in the early stages, with little to separate the pair in the opening 20 minutes. Two Hollywoodbets Sharks penalties gave the visitors a bit of breathing space, which was erased soon after through Chay Mullins.
The winger broke free on the open side after some efficient scrummaging as he grabbed the round’s opening try.
Some solid Jean Smith kicking kept the South Africans’ score ticking over as the half progressed, though, and the Sharks clocked 12 by the 40-minute mark.
It was a different story in the second period as Connacht came out firing.
Cathal Forde was first to breach the Sharks’ backline before Shamus Hurley-Langton crashed over from close range in similar fashion to the side’s second.
An uncharacteristic missed penalty from Smith failed to drag the Sharks back into it – an error that Forde gladly punished.
The centre ploughed through just after the hour mark to rubber-stamp Connacht’s authority on the tie.
The Irish province will have to wait to find out their fate as they face either Montpellier Hérault Rugby USAP in the quarter-final next weekend.
