20-point half-time buffer not enough as Sharks fall to spirited Connacht

Connacht erased a 20-point half-time deficit to defeat the Hollywoodbets Sharks 36-30 in a topsy-turvy BKT United Rugby Championship clash at Dexcom Stadium.

It took a brilliant second half from Pete Wilkins’ men to open their win account for the season.

Replacement Oisin Dowling’s 70th-minute try was the one that mattered the most.

Trailing to an early Dave Heffernan score, the Sharks took over 20 minutes to reach the opposition 22 but built a 27-7 interval lead.

Andre Esterhuizen powered over twice, Jordan Hendrikse delivered two monster penalties, and Gerbrandt Grobler also crossed late on.

However, Connacht marked prop Denis Buckley’s 250th appearance with a fitting result thanks to further tries from player-of-the-match Heffernan, Cathal Forde, Shane Jennings and Dowling.

The Westerners made the early running, with a Piers O’Conor break preceding hooker Heffernan’s opening maul effort. Josh Ioane nailed the conversion.

The hosts remained on the front foot until former Harlequin Esterhuizen’s hard line off a lineout got the Sharks off the mark. Siya Masuku converted.

Hendrikse, the Currie Cup final’s goal-kicking hero, then split the posts from halfway, before Esterhuizen proved unstoppable again in the 28th minute.

Following a stunning 63-metre strike from Hendrikse to make it 20-7, Grobler scored via a maul for Masuku to convert.

Forde got Connacht firing again with a clever chip kick for Mack Hansen, whose return pass sent the young centre in behind the posts.

Heffernan barged past Tian Meyer for a 50th-minute maul try, and there was only a point in it (27-26) after Jennings intercepted replacement Meyer’s pass to race clear from just outside the Connacht 22.

The momentum was then seized by second-row Dowling, who successfully burrowed over. Forde converted and tagged a penalty to seal the maximum haul. Masuku’s last-minute penalty gave his side a losing bonus point.