It was a display of pride and passion from the men of Connacht as they stepped into the lions den of Stade Ernest Wallon for this pool 6 round 5 match against Toulouse.

Connacht started the brighter of the 2 sides as Eric Elwood?s men showed some superb imagination culminating in a crossfield kick from Niall O?Connor which captain Gavin Duffy almost gathered for what would have been a rip-roo?aring opening score. Connacht kept the pressure on their French hosts and after 4 minutes Niall O?Connor stepped up for his first shot at goal. The effort glanced the upright and Connacht were unlucky not to gather the rebound but O?Connor made amends 10 minutes later scoring what turned out to be Connacht?s only points of the match.

 Despite attacking the Toulouse line with everything they had, from hard running lines from the forwards to deft up and unders from the backs, Connacht couldn?t break down the Toulouse defence line and a tries from winger Timoci Matanavou and fullback Maxime Medard separated the 2 sides at half time.

Louis Picamoles picked the ball from the base of a scrum 5m out from the Connacht line and crashed over for Toulouse?s 3 try and after 68 minutes Matanavou finished off a slick backine move to secure the bonus point for the home side.

Though the scoreline may not reflect it this was a vastly improved performance from Connacht and all involved will look forward to the visit of Harlequins to the Sportsground next Friday. Tickets are on sale now on www.ticketmaster.ie or from the Connacht Rugby offices on College Rd.

Connacht:

Gavin Duffy, Fetu?u Vainikolo, Dave McSharry, Kyle Tonetti, Tiernan O?Halloran, Niall O?Connor, Paul O?Donohoe, Brett Wilkinson, Adrian Flavin, Dylan Rogers, Michael Swift, Mike McCarthy, John Muldoon, Ray Ofisa, George Naoupu

Replacements:

Ethienne Reynecke, Denis Buckley, Stewart Maguire, Mick Kearney, Eoin McKeon, Dave Moor, Miah Nikora, Henry Fa?afili

Toulouse:

Maxime Medard, Vincent Clerc, Yann David, Florian Fritz, Timoci Matanavou, Luke McAlister, Luke Burgess, G