Fightback wins deny South African teams clean sweep while Cardiff claim derby spoils

Connacht erased a 20-point half-time deficit to beat the Sharks 36-30 in a topsy-turvy United Rugby Championship clash at Dexcom Stadium on Saturday night.

It took a brilliant second half from Pete Wilkins’ men to open their win account for the season.

Replacement Oisin Dowling’s 70th-minute try was the one that mattered the most.

Trailing to an early Dave Heffernan score, the Sharks took over 20 minutes to reach the opposition 22 but built a 27-7 interval lead.

Andre Esterhuizen powered over twice, Jordan Hendrikse delivered two monster penalties, and Gerbrandt Grobler also crossed late on.

However, Connacht marked prop Denis Buckley’s 250th appearance with a fitting result thanks to further tries from player-of-the-match Heffernan, Cathal Forde, Shane Jennings and Dowling.

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The westerners made the early running, with a Piers O’Conor break preceding hooker Heffernan’s opening maul effort. Josh Ioane nailed the conversion.

The hosts remained on the front foot until former Harlequin Esterhuizen’s hard line off a lineout got the Sharks off the mark. Siya Masuku converted.

Hendrikse, the Currie Cup final’s goal-kicking hero, then split the posts from halfway, before Esterhuizen proved unstoppable again in the 28th minute.

Following a stunning 63-metre strike from Hendrikse to make it 20-7, Grobler scored via a maul for Masuku to convert.

Forde got Connacht firing again with a clever chip kick for Mack Hansen, whose return pass sent the young centre in behind the posts.

Heffernan barged past Tian Meyer for a 50th-minute maul try, and there was only a point in it (27-26) after Jennings intercepted replacement Meyer’s pass to race clear from just outside the Connacht 22.

The momentum was then seized by second row Dowling, who successfully burrowed over. Forde converted and tagged a penalty to seal the maximum haul. Masuku’s last-minute penalty gave his side a losing bonus point.

Ospreys come from behind to stun Stormers

Elsehwere, Ospreys recovered from last week’s shock defeat to Dragons with an impressive 37-24 victory over Stormers in a titanic battle in Bridgend.

A second-half revival saw Ospreys home with their tries coming from Jac Morgan, Reuben Morgan-Williams and Dan Edwards. There was also a penalty try award while Edwards added three conversions, two penalties and a drop goal.

Leolin Zas and JD Schickerling scored tries for Stormers with Jurie Mathee kicking three penalties and a conversion. Damien Willemse added a drop goal.

Morgan Williams celebrated his 100th appearance for Ospreys but they were soon behind when a well-judged cross-field kick from Matthee resulted in a try for Zas.

Matthee fired over the touchline conversion before he and Edwards exchanged penalties as Stormers dominated the opening quarter.

It came as no surprise when they extended their lead through a long-range penalty from Matthee after the hosts were sent backwards in a scrum.

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However, against the run of play, Ospreys scored next when Owen Watkin, who had recently returned from passing an HIA, side-stepped two defenders with skipper Morgan up in support to crash over.

Edwards converted before he and Matthee again exchanged penalties to leave Stormers with a 16-13 half-time advantage.

Four minutes after the restart, Willemse rewarded a period of pressure with a neat drop goal to put the South Africans further in front.

However, Ospreys took the lead for the first time when bursts from Keiran Williams and Dewi Lake set up a try for Morgan-Williams. Edwards converted before succeeding with an impressive drop goal.

Morgan-Williams was the catalyst for Ospreys’ third try when his explosive kick and chase set up a score for Edwards.

Schickerling scored a try for Stormers but the hosts sustained late pressure before clinching victory with a penalty try award as the South Africans collapsed a driving maul.

Cardiff fight back to beat Scarlets and make it two wins from two

Earlier, Cardiff continued their winning start to the new United Rugby Championship season as they recovered from a shaky opening to beat the Scarlets 24-15.

The visitors conceded just 14 seconds after the kick-off at Parc y Scarlets when Macs Page gathered Tom Rogers’ kick and touched down to give Scarlets a dream start.

And after Sam Costelow increased the hosts’ lead with a penalty, Taine Plumtree scored in the 10th minute to make it 15-0.

But Cardiff soon hit back, with quick-fire tries from Liam Belcher and Mason Grady making it 15-12 at the break.

After Ryan Elias and Alec Hepburn were shown yellow cards for Scarlets early in the second half, Harri Millard went over in the 56th minute to put Cardiff in front for the first time before Belcher received a yellow.

Ben Thomas put the result beyond doubt with Cardiff’s fourth try in the 64th minute to secure a bonus-point win, and back-to-back victories.

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