Bristol Bears’ Champions Cup hopes end with humbling defeat to Connacht

Pat Lam’s side arrived in Ireland occupying final qualification spot in pool one – defeat sees English club drop to the bottom of the table

Bristol needed a commanding victory to keep their hopes of pool-stage progression alive but what they received in Galway was the antithesis. 
Connacht, themselves needing a maximum five points to remain in the hunt for European knock-out rugby, dished out a bonus-point hiding to the disappointing Bears. 
The day ended in a Y and so the newly rebranded Dexcom Stadium, staging its first match since changing its Sportsground moniker, was pummeled with wind. But, in front of Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s Taoiseach, and a sell-out crowd, Connacht blew the biggest gust. Shamus Hurley-Langton and Cian Prendergast moved like men possessed on the hosts’ back row and left Bristol hoping the already qualified Lyon could do them a massive favour on Saturday night at Saracens. 
If Saracens secure as much as a losing bonus point – or even lose by less than 16 – then Bristol’s European journey this season is over, as the bottom of Pool One beckons. Admittedly, the visitors’ cause was hamstrung. In the current climate, criticising referees should be done with a heavy heart, but there was a full-blown meltdown in the 13th minute. 
Josh Caulfield, the Bristol lock, was shown a red card for what referee Pierre Brousset – who himself had to be replaced at half-time owing to a calf strain – deemed an “intentional” stamp to the face of Finlay Bealham. The connection was ugly and the Ireland tighthead required treatment but it was nothing more than clumsy and accidental, with Caulfield concurrently receiving a boot to his own face.
Josh Caulfield recieves a red card for standing on the head of Finlay Bealham 🤕What are your thoughts on the call?#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/nFmkWpYLIQ
It was a bonkers call, a yellow card at best, and it meant that Bristol had to compete for 67 minutes with 14 players. The sin-binning of Kyle Sinckler, this week omitted from England’s Six Nations squad, meant the Bears were clinging on for 10 first-half minutes with 13, too. 
“I understand the red card but it was 100 per cent an accident,” said Pat Lam, Bristol’s director of rugby, who spent four seasons at Connacht, winning the Pro12 final in 2016. “I saw Finlay, thankfully he’s all good, but he’s probably lost his modelling career with a scar down his face. 
What the red meant was that we had to be even more accurate and we weren’t. I’d say [that’s Europe done]. We had an opportunity last week; didn’t take it. Then a final one; didn’t take it. It was our most disappointing performance.” Even with Bristol at 15 players, it was all too easy for Connacht to strike first. Bundee Aki crashed into the midfield and David Hawkshaw’s delayed pass to Tiernan O’Halloran led to Andrew Smith feeding Shayne Bolton to score. 
Shayne Bolton gets @connachtrugby up & running against Bristol 💪#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/MRTrXeoE7g
With Caulfield’s red and Hurley-Langton knocking Bristol over like skittles, the hosts added a second try when Jack Aungier – on temporarily due to Bealham’s blood – barrelled over from close range. Sinckler’s yellow for an off-the-ball tackle forced Bristol down to 13 men, but with Prendergast off his feet at a ruck moments later AJ MacGinty was able, at least, to open his side’s account from the tee. 
Connacht suffered some disruption of their own, with fly-half JJ Hanrahan limping off before half-time and being replaced by Ireland international Jack Carty. 
It did not stop the hosts from scoring a third, however, when captain Caolin Blade darted over to ensure a healthy 17-3 lead for Connacht. With the hosts hunting the bonus-point try, Smith’s spectacular finish was ruled out for the tightest of touch calls, but the Bristol scrum was buckling and the wing finished in the same corner moments later regardless.
Kalaveti Ravouvou’s sublime solo score was ruled out for a slim knock-on, summing up the Bears’ night. A late penalty try was a consolation but who knows what might have been without that 13th-minute madness.
Connacht suffered some disruption of their own, with fly-half JJ Hanrahan limping off before half-time and being replaced by Ireland international Jack Carty. It did not stop the hosts from adding a third try, however, when captain Caolin Blade darted over to ensure a healthy 17-3 half-time lead. 
With Connacht hunting the bonus-point try, Smith’s spectacular finish was cruelly ruled out for the tightest of touch calls, but with the Bristol scrum buckling the wing would finish in the same corner regardless. Kalaveti Ravouvou’s sublime solo score was ruled out for a slim knock-on, summing up Bristol’s night.
 A late penalty try was a Bristol consolation but who knows what might have been without that 13th-minute madness.
Scoring sequence: 5-0 Bolton try, 10-0 Aungier try, 12-0 Hanrahan con, 12-3 MacGinty pen, 17-3 Blade try, 22-3 Smith try, 24-3 Carty con, 27-3 Carty pen, 27-10 penalty try.H-T: 17-3Connacht: T O’Halloran; A Smith, D Hawkshaw, B Aki, S Bolton;  JJ Hanrahan, C Blade (c); D Buckley, T McElroy, F Bealham, N Murray, J Joyce, C Prendergast, S Hurley-Langton, J Butler.Replacements: Heffernan, Dooley, Aungier, Dowling, Oliver, McDonald, Carty, McNulty.Yellow card: Joyce 80Bristol: M Malins; K Ravouvou, V Vakatawa, B Janse van Rensburg, G Ibitoye; AJ MacGinty, H Randall; J Woolmore, G Oghre, K Sinckler, J Caulfield, J Batley, S Luatua, F Harding (c), M BradburyReplacements: Capon, Grahamslaw, Lahiff, Owen, Thomas, Marmion, Williams, O’Conor.Yellow card: Sinckler 20Red card: Caulfield 13