Three tries for Adeolokun in rout of hapless French men

 Oyonnax 14

THE Challenge Cup only really gets going in the knockout stages. Connacht secured their spot there with the draw in Worcester in round five so on Saturday they just needed a simple win over Oyonnax to ensure a home quarter final. The objective was achieved with plenty to spare against an abject and entirely disinterested Oyonnax side that had decided way back in October that this tournament wasn’t for them.

The competition can produce some forgettable games at times, this was another. Yet it invariably is worth sticking with as it always seems to come to boil in the spring with some nail-biting knockout contests. Think back two years to that wonderful quarter final encounter away to Grenoble or some great semi-finals down through history at the Sportsground against the likes of Toulon in 2010 and Harlequins way back in 2004.

So Saturday’s game was what it was, a formality in terms of outcome and a tricky test in terms of professionalism and remaining injury-free. The respective early departures of Craig Ronaldson, Conor Carey and Niyi Adeolokun could prove costly but as an attacking force, Connacht were a different class in the first half here, they didn’t let the abject effort from their visitors put them off their usual speed and creativity and scored at will in the early stages.

Niyi Adeolokun had tries on 19 seconds and three minutes, Bundee Aki waltzed in behind the defence after a Kieran Marmion kick. Sure, Oyonnax mustered a couple of tries for their own good before the break from full back Axel Muller and Daniel Ikpefan, but Connacht were not finished and by half time they had added three more including Adeolokun’s hat trick, one from Tiernan O’Halloran and a try from Matt Healy that brought him level with Fionn Carr at 42 on the all-time Connacht scorer list.

It was a cakewalk, which makes the second half effort a bit of a head scratcher. Connacht spent 27 minutes after half time in total control in terms of possession and territory but struggling to find another try up until the point where replacement Tom Farrell finally broke through the stubborn defence. A penalty try in the final ten minutes concluded the scoring. The margin really didn’t matter though, the win was all that was needed.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.