Guinness PRO12: Connacht beat Glasgow to setup all-Irish final
Last Updated: 22/05/16 12:49pm
Connacht beat Glasgow 16-11 in their Guinness PRO12 play-off to set up an all-Irish final against Leinster next Saturday.
It was an emotional win for Connacht, who will feature in a PRO12 final for the first time in their history. Glasgow on the other hand will rue a spate of handling errors and ill-discipline that kept them just out of reach.
Winger Niyi Adeolokun scored Connacht's only try of the day, with fly-half Jack MacGinty contributing 11 points with the boot.
Fijian second row Leone Nakarawa scored a try for the visitors, while Duncan Weir, on as a replacement in the first minute after Finn Russell was taken off on a stretcher following a collision, kicked two penalties.
Glasgow had a glimmer of hope when replacement Connacht prop Rodney Ah You was shown a yellow card with eight minutes remaining, but the Scots could not make the extra man count as the home side successfully closed out the game.
Connacht will face Leinster in the PRO12 final on May 28 in Edinburgh, live on Sky Sports.
The intense atmosphere as the teams ran out was quelled right at the beginning of the match when Russell was caught in an unfortunate collision, causing the referee to stop the match immediately as the Scotland international was taken from the field. He collided with team-mate Zander Fagerson, who also left the field.
The visitors seemed unable to find their rhythm thereafter, but the Irish side were no better as both teams played their typical expansive game despite passes not going to hand.
In the end it was Connacht who were first to stamp their mark on the game, with man of the match Bundee Aki running hard with the ball to bring his team within touching distance of the line.
The territorial pressure finally paid off as Connacht won a penalty in the opposition half, and MacGinty made it 3-0 after 23 minutes. However the Warriors hit back with a Weir penalty to draw level three minutes later.
Adeolokun then crossed for his try, taking a long pass on the right touchline before stepping inside Warriors full-back Stuart Hogg and shrugging off the last two defenders to give Connacht a 10-3 lead at the break.
Nakarawa scored minutes after half-time to bring his side within two of Connacht, but Weir could not draw level with his conversion attempt.
MacGinty then took Connacht to a five point lead as the third quarter drew to a close, but just as they had in the first half, Connacht immediately conceded a penalty of their own to hand Weir the chance to cancel out MacGinty's effort. Weir made no mistake, reinstating the two-point deficit.
Glasgow's poor discipline then saw a series of penalties conceded in their own half, and though initially MacGinty opted to kick for the corner each time rather than risk a speculative shot at goal in the wind, the fly-half finally relented and called for the kicking tee in the 64th minute.
His attempt brushed past the inside of the left upright, giving his side a 16-11 lead with just over 15 minutes remaining.
Connacht then knocked on while on the attack near the Glasgow line, and when Hogg tried to run the ball out of his in-goal area, he was hit but a reckless high shot from Ah You, which saw the prop sent to the bin to see out the match from the sidelines.
Glasgow threw everything at their hosts with the man advantage, but once again were haunted by shoddy handling which cost them every threatening chance.
