Connacht defeat Ulster in Cara Cup clash

The second match of the Cara Cup saw the Connacht Eagles coming away convincing winners over Ulster ‘A’ on Wednesday. It was a chilly evening in Weymouth with less brave souls attending at Union Point Sports Complex than had seen the Free Jacks play on the weekend, but those in attendance were treated to 10 tries in all between the two sides.

Connacht raced out to a 22-0 halftime lead thanks to an early penalty goal from Conor Dean and three tries. Conor Hayes scored the first down the left wing while hooker Jonny Murphy would grab a double, both off the back of driving mauls.

Ulster finally got on the board early in the second half as Joe Dunleavy burst over, converted by Johnny McPhillips, but the men in green would strike three times before their next. Sean O’Brien, Hugh Lane, and Robin Copeland all touched down at the end of multiple phases to make it 39-7 at the hour mark.

A pair of tries in the space of three minutes for speedster Graham Curtis made it a more respectable 39-21 but that would be all for Ulster on the evening. Hayes showed his own skills again to step away from the defense and score his second to wrap up proceedings.

That completes Connacht’s participation in the series hosted by New England. Ulster will play against the Free Jacks on Sunday in the third match of the week.

 

SCORING

CONNACHT 44
Tries – C. Hayes 2 (13’, 69’), J. Murphy 2 (20’, 38’), S. O’Brien (50’), H. Lane (55’), R. Copeland (60’)
Cons – C. Dean 3/7 (21’, 39’, 61’)
Pens – C. Dean 1/1 (4’)

ULSTER 21
Tries – J. Dunleavy (42’), G. Curtis 2 (62’, 65’)
Cons – J. McPhillips 1/1 (43’), B. Houston 2/2 (63’, 66’)
Yellow cards – C. Reid (78’)

 

TEAMS

CONNACHT EAGLES
1 Jordan Duggan, 2 Jonny Murphy, 3 Conor Kenny, 4 Peter Claffey, 5 Joe Maksymiw (capt.), 6 Sean Masterson, 7 James Connolly, 8 Robin Copeland, 9 James Mitchell, 10 Conor Dean, 11 Conor Hayes, 12 Sean O’Brien, 13 Corey Reid, 14 Hugh Lane, 15 Colm de Buitlear

Replacements: 16 Declan Adamson, 17 Conan O’Donnell, 18 Neal Moylett, 19 Cian Huxford, 20 Stephen Kerins, 21 Luke Carty, 22 Oran McNulty

ULSTER ‘A’
1 Peter Cooper, 2 Zack McCall, 3 Ross Kane, 4 JJ McKee, 5 Jack Regan, 6 Caleb Montgomery, 7 Marcus Rea (capt), 8 Joe Dunleavy, 9 Michael Stronge, 10 Johnny McPhillips, 11 Jack Owens, 12 Ben Power, 13 Stewart Moore, 14 Graham Curtis, 15 Iwan Hughes

Replacements: 16 Claytan Milligan, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Corrie Barrett, 19 Bradley Luney, 20 David McCann, 21 Charlie Clarke, 22 Lewis Finlay, 23 Bruce Houston, 24 Ben McCaughey