Connacht make it 3 wins from 3 with victory over Bristol

Connacht continued there excellent pre-season form with a victory over Bristol Bears. The win in Ashton Gate sends Connacht into the first round of the PRO14 against Glasgow, with three wins from three and all available players getting game time over the three fixtures.

An outstanding Jack Carty conversion from the touchline in the second half  after Matt Healy went in in the corner ultimately proved to be the difference between the sides. Having gone in 5 - 0 down at half time, Andy Friend's side put in an outstanding second half display scoring two excellent tries. Healy's effort was followed by Academy player Paul Boyle's first try in a Connacht jersey.

With only a few minutes left on the clock Ian Madigan opted to kick for the posts and nudge Bristol in front, but his effort tailed to the right and there was to be no way back for Pat Lam's side.

After the game Head Coach Andy Friend spoke of the resilience his side showed to grind out the win, with a tougher test to come next weekend in the Sporstground; "That was a different game to our last two pre-season fixtures but I was pleased with the way the boys responded in the second half and the  how they found a way to win that game. We had a really physical game and we are ready now for the season ahead" the Head Coach said.

"It will be different next weekend and it will be a big challenge taking on Glasgow in the Sportsground. We are really looking forward to it and we are expecting a big atmosphere  next Saturday", he added.

Connacht 

15. Tiernan O’Halloran, 14. Cian Kelleher, 13. Kyle Godwin, 12. Tom Farrell, 11. Matt Healy, 10. Jack Carty, 9. James Mitchell, 1. Denis Buckley, 2. Dave Heffernan (captain), 3. Finlay Bealham, 4. Ultan Dillane, 5. James Cannon, 6. James Connolly, 7. Paul Boyle, 8. Robin Copeland

Replacements used: Shane Delahunt, Peter McCabe, Conor Carey, Joe Maksymiw, Cillian Gallagher, Conor McKeon, Craig Ronaldson, Niyi Adeolokun, Eoin Griffin, Quinn Roux.