The encounter was a showcase of end-to-end rugby, with both teams exchanging blows throughout. Bristol’s clinical attack saw them secure a hard-fought win, but Connacht demonstrated immense resilience, keeping the contest alive until the dying moments. The second half wasn’t as intense due to all the substitutions.

First Half: Electric Start, Momentum Shifts

Bristol wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, with James Williams crossing for an early try just two minutes in, converted by AJ MacGinty. Connacht responded swiftly with Andrew Smith charging over the whitewash in the 5th minute, with Josh Ioane adding the extras to level the game. Smith, a standout performer for Connacht, added his second try in the 21st minute, showcasing his blistering pace and eye for the try line.

Bristol’s Harry Randall was instrumental in the first half, punishing Connacht with a sharp interception and a cheeky dummy to bag two tries in quick succession (18’ and 27’). Ioane, however, kept Connacht in touch with a flawless kicking display, converting all of Connacht’s first-half tries, including a late try from Niall Murray after a period of sustained pressure.

At halftime, the scoreboard read **Bristol Bears 24-21 Connacht**, with both teams evenly matched in what was shaping up to be a high-scoring affair.

Second Half: Substitutions and Drama

The second half began with both teams rotating their lineups, bringing on fresh legs and nearly fielding completely different sides. Bristol capitalised first as Benhard Janse van Rensburg sliced through Connacht’s defense to score their fifth try of the evening in the 51st minute, with MacGinty converting to extend their lead to 31-21.

"Pre-season has been brilliant and we've had four good wins. That was the toughest game so far and we're ready to go for @premrugby now."

Hear from DOR Pat Lam after today's pre-season victory over Connacht at the HPC pic.twitter.com/9x9Warzzpu

— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) September 13, 2024

Connacht, undeterred, responded with Fiachna Barrett crashing over in the 68th minute following a long spell of pressure, narrowing the gap to just three points after Ioane added the conversion. Moments later, Connacht seized the lead for the first time in the match when another try scored by Paul Boyle was converted, taking them ahead 35-31 with just seven minutes remaining.

However, Bristol had the final say. Rich Lane darted over for a try in the 75th minute, and the successful conversion restored the Bears’ advantage at 38-35. Despite late efforts, Connacht couldn’t muster another score, and the match concluded with Bristol narrowly coming out on top.

Final Thoughts: Promising Signs for Connacht

Despite the loss, Connacht will take plenty of positives from the performance, particularly their fighting spirit and attacking prowess. Andrew Smith was electric, and Josh Ioane’s accuracy with the boot was flawless throughout. But most importantly it seen the comeback of Mack Hansen who had been out injured since January. With the URC season opener against Munster next weekend, Connacht will look to fine-tune their defense and build on the strong attacking foundations laid in this preseason encounter.

Match Scorers:

**Bristol Bears:**
– **James Williams** (Try, 2’)
– **Harry Randall** (Tries, 18’, 27’)
– **Harry Thacker** (Try, 33’)
– **Benhard Janse van Rensburg** (Try, 51’)
– **Rich Lane** (Try, 75’)
– **AJ MacGinty** (Conversions, 2’, 18’, 51’, )

**Connacht Rugby:**
– **Andrew Smith** (Tries, 5’, 21’)
– **Niall Murray** (Try, 36’)
– **Fiachna Barrett** (Try, 68’)
– ** Paul Boyle** (Try, 72)
– **Conversions** – Josh Ioane (5’, 21’, 36’, ?, ?

**Starting XV**
(15-9): Mack Hansen, Shane Jennings, Piers O’Conor, Hugh Gavin, Andrew Smith, Josh Ioane, Caolin Blade
(1-8): Peter Dooley, Dave Heffernan, Sam Illo, Oisin Dowling, Niall Murray, Josh Murphy, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Cian Prendergast (C)

**Replacements**:
Denis Buckley, Eoin de Buitlear, Fiachna Barrett, Darragh Murray, David O’Connor, Paul Boyle, Conor Oliver, Sean Jansen, Ben Murphy, Sean Naughton, David Hawkshaw, Byron Ralston, Finn Treacy

Connacht’s focus now shifts to the highly anticipated clash with Munster, as they kick off the new URC season next weekend.

The post Match Report: Bristol Bears 38-35 Connacht Rugby – Mack is back appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Colm ‘Cullie’ Tucker, Mossy Lawler and Dewald Senekal have joined Andy Friend’s backroom for the 2021/22 season while Peter Wilkins is now the side’s senior coach after previously holding the position of defence coach.

Boyle has previously worked with Cullie Tucker and Lawler during his time in the Connacht Academy and has worked with Wilkins in the last few years.

The 24-year-old is excited to work with the familiar faces again and is also eager to get a season under his belt alongside Senekal.

“I worked with Cullie and Mossy before in the Academy – I always enjoyed working with them,” Boyle said. “Pete in his new role is doing a really good job and then Dewald, he’s kind of laying down the law with the forwards, and I’m really enjoying working under him as well.

“Even during the international window when I hadn’t met him, he was texting me wishing me the best of luck – he’s a really nice guy.

“Then coaching-wise, like I said he kind of lays down the law. Really strict, but adds a bit of fun to it as well and he has some really cool ideas around how he wants our forward pack to play.”

Forwards coach Senekal joined the province after spells with Bayonne, Grenoble (joint-head coach) and Stade Francais in recent years.

Boyle also worked with another coaching ticket this summer – Andy Farrell’s Ireland team.

The former Landsdowne man was one of six Connacht players called up to the national squad and he got his first cap against the USA.

The Dubliner values the time he spent in the Irish camp and noted that it was an enjoyable, but intense experience.

“The three-week camp was really enjoyable, it was unbelievably intense. I learned a lot and since then I’ve just been trying to implement the things I’ve learned, whether it was work-ons or good things I need to improve as well.

“I’ve just been enjoying implementing those, I got some good feedback from coaches, learned a lot off other players I was in camp with and hopefully come game time I can implement some of the things I’ve been working on.

“It was something that I had been working towards but I suppose when the call comes it is always a surprise.

“It’s a lovely surprise but it’s something I’ve been working towards for the last number of years so I was delighted as well.”

The back-rowers focus for now, however, has returned to the Connacht setup ahead of the new season.

The Westerners start their season on Friday, September 24 with a journey to Cardiff Arms Park to take one the renamed Cardiff Rugby.

Boyle is hoping for more consistent performances throughout the season after a frustrating 2020/21 campaign.

“It’s just putting in an 80-minute performance. There’s been patches of games that have got away from us.

“Even if it’s only 10-15 minutes, it’s enough to let the game slip away so it’s not only about being consistent game-to-game, it’s being consistent for the full 80 minutes as well.

“It’s about putting the head down and working hard. We’ve had plenty of weeks now to prep, we’ve had our two games, so I think it would be silly to have any excuses come the first game.”

Connacht’s opening match of the inaugural United Rugby Championship season against Cardiff gets underway on Friday at 7:35 pm and will be shown live on TG4.

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