Connacht …….. 61
Brive ………………. 5
ALEX Wootton scored a hat-trick as Connacht's bonus point win secured their place in the knockout stages. Tries from John Porch, Finlay Bealham, Cathal Forde, and a brace from Wootton sealed the bonus point before half-time. Wootton added a third on the resumption, while Conor Oliver, Conor Fitzgerald and Kieran Marmion rounded things off.
“It's great when you are playing rugby like that and you get a scoreline that – I'm really pleased,” said Connacht director of rugby Andy Friend who will take his side to Newcastle next weekend.
Brive arrived the morning of thematch for their day trip to Ireland with a second-string lineup and were caught napping in the third minute when Jack Carty cross-kicked for Porch to score. Wootton and Mack Hansen, playing at full-back rather than the wing, combined to send prop Bealham over for a 14-0 lead after nine minutes.
Connacht struck for a third before the quarter mark, Peter Dooley burst through in midfield, Colm Reilly missed out Carty with the pass and Forde powered over in the right corner. The bonus point came in the 24th minute when Hansen caused mayhem before Dave Heffernan and Hansen were stopped short only for Wootton to follow up.
Wootton got his second try after more sloppy defence and Carty piled on the misery for a 33-0 advantage. Winger Kevin Fabien from Haiti got Brive's only score of the game before the interval.
The game unravelled in the second half but Wootton completed his hat-trick in the 51st minute before further efforts from Oliver, Fitzgerald and Marmion crowned a facile win, with Carty converting eight of the nine tries.
TEAMS
CONNACHT: Hansen 8; Porch 8 (Fitzgerald 58, 7), Ralston 7, Forde 7 (Daly 58, 6), Wootton 9; Carty 8 (c), Reilly 7 (Marmion 66, 7); Dooley 7 (Duggan 52, 6), Heffernan 7 (Tierney-Martin 62, 6), Bealham 8 (Aungier 52, 6); Murphy 7, Murray 6 (Fifita 58, 6); Prendergast, 7 Oliver 7, Butler 7 (Booth 62, 6) BRIVE: Biasotto 5 (Bedou 60, 5); Fabien 6, Douglas 5, Lee (c) 5 (Herve 46, 5), Tirefort 4 (Danovaro 21, 5); Raffy 5, Lobzhanidze 5 (Carbonneau 46, 5); Thompson-Stringer 5 (Fraissenon 52, 5), Karkadze 5 (Tronc 60, 5), Tuimauga 5 (Coria Marchetti 38, HIA 5); Zafra 5, Rixen 5; Voisin 5, Gue 5, Papali'I 5 (Matalaweru 52, 5)
REFEREE: Gianluca Gnecchi (Ita) ATTENDANCE: 4,129
Star man Alex Wootton -Connacht
