With Swansea city experiencing an Indian Summer the clash between Connacht and the Ospreys kicked off in perfect conditions in the Liberty Stadium and it was the home side that started the brighter with fullback Barry Davies sliding in for a try after just 5 minutes. Outhalf Dan Biggar stood up and slotted the difficult conversion. He added a penalty 15mins later to stretch the Ospreys lea to 10 – 0. That all changed when Niall O’Connor kicked for territory following Richard Fussell’s penalty on the halfway line. Connacht retained the ball through a number of phases and when the Ospreys defence had been sucked in captain Gavin Duffy crashed over after 25mins. O’Connor nailed the touchline conversion to bring the score to 10 – 7. Hanno Dirksen slid in for a try following some slick hands by the Ospreys backline left the winger free in the middle of the pitch. Biggar converted the try. Niall O’Connor added 3 points for Connacht with 3 minutes remaining in the first half and that was how it finished up at half time, Ospreys 17 – 10 Connacht.

The second half was a lively affair with both sides playing wide expansive rugby. Ian Gough was sin-binned for a punch and after 61mins Gavin Duffy scored his 2^nd try of the night. Man of the Match Dan Biggar kicked 3 further penalties during the second half but a penalty and a Niall O’Connor drop-goal brought Connacht to within enough to earn a loosing bonus point and the final score was Ospreys 26-21 Connacht.

Next up for Conncht is an away trip to the RDS next Saturday to take on Leinster

Connacht:

G Duffy ©, B Tuohy, E Griffin, H Fa’afili, T O’Halloran, N O’Connor, F Murphy, B Wilkinson, E Reynecke, D Rogers, M Swift, M McCarthy, TJ Anderson, J O’Connor, J Muldoon

Replacements:

A Flavin, R Loughney, S Maguire, D Gannon, R Ofisa, P O’Donohoe, M Jarvis, J Loxton

Ospreys:

B Davies, R Fussell, T Isaacs, A Bishop, H Dirksen, R Webb, D Jones, R Hibbard, A Jarvis, I Gough, I Evans, T Smith, J Tipuric ©, J Thomas

Replacements:

M Davies, C Griffiths, J Rees, J King, J Bearman, M Morgan, S Parker, K Phillips

Pic (C) www.inpho.ie/HuwEvans