Southern Kings lose to Connacht Rugby
In the first minute Connacht opened the scoring with a try under the poles from Colby Fainga’a. The conversion from number 10 – Jack Carty was good.
5:45: Tiernan O’Halloran scores for Connacht, Carty converts and Connacht move to 14-0
8:45: Erich Cronje loses the ball crossing the line – TMO decision.
15:30: Red card for Peter Robb for contact with the neck area on Kings’ Howard Mnisi – Connacht will now play the rest of the game with 14 men.
27:30: Number 9, Stefan Ungerer opens the scoring for the Southern Kings. Siya “Cooper” Masuku converts 7-14
30:55: Number 11, Erich Cronje dashes down the middle for his first try, Masuku converts and the teams are level.
Drawing level with Connacht Rugby and one man up has given the Southern Kings a higher level of confidence as they throw the ball around probing Conacht defense whilst running freely.
39:44: Successful penalty for Jack Carty as Connacht go back into the lead 14-17
At the restart Connacht came out with some classic 14 man techniques – slow the game down, keep it tight, wait for mistakes , look for the gap.
47:15: Jack Carty scampers to a touchdown in the corner. 22-17.
51:30: Replacement Robin Stevens makes his Kings and Guinness PRO14 debut.
Despite being a man down Connacht have dominated the first 15 minutes of the second half in terms of possession, territory and points.
57:03: Erich Cronje scores his second try of the game in the far South East corner. Southern Kings move to 19-22
69:35: Penalty try to Connacht. 19-29. Connacht gain a try bonus point.
77:08: Jack Carty misses a penalty attempt.
80:00: Soutern Kings lose against Connacht Rugby 19-29.
Scorers:
- Southern Kings 19 (14) – Try: Stefan Ungerer, Erich Cronje (2); Conversion: Siya Masuku (2)
- Connacht Rugby 29 (17) – Try: Colby Fainga’a, Tiernan O’Halloran, Jack Carty; Conversion: Jack Carty (2); Penalty: Jack Carty
Isuzu Southern Kings v Connacht
TEAMS:
Isuzu Southern Kings:
FORWARDS (1-8): Schalk Ferreira, Alandre van Rooyen, Rossouw de Klerk, Jerry Sexton, John-Charles Astle (C), Lusanda Badiyana, Thembelani Bholi, Elrigh Louw.
BACKLINE (9-15): Stefan Ungerer, Siyabonga Masuku, Erich Cronje, Howard Mnisi, Sibusiso Sithole, Christopher Hollis, Masixole Banda.
REPLACEMENTS (16-23): Robin Stevens, Xandre Vos, Pieter Scholtz, Bobby de Wee, Ruaan Lerm, Theo Maree, Tiaan Botes, Josiah Twum-Boafo.
Connacht:
BACKLINE: Tiernan O’Halloran, John Porch, Kyle Godwin, Tom Daly, Matt Healy, Jack Carty, Caolin Blade.
FORWARDS: Paddy McAllister, Shane Delahunt, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, Ultan Dillane, Joe Maksymiw, Paul Boyle, Colby Fainga’a, Jarrad Butler (c).
Replacements (16-23): Dave Heffernan, Denis Buckley, Conor Kenny, Eoghan Masterson, Eoin McKeon, Kieran Marmion, Conor Fitzgerald, Peter Robb.
Date: Sunday, 1 March
SA time: 15h00
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni
Assistant Referees: Ruhan Meiring and Ben Crouse
TMO: Christie du Preez
TV: SS1
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