GUINNESS PRO12 leaders Connacht claimed their first competitive win at Thomond Park since 1986 as Bundee Aki’s acrobatic late try sealed an 18-12 success against Munster.
Man-of-the-match Aki’s diving one-handed finish in the left corner with three minutes left was an apt way for Connacht to finish on a night when they wore superhero ‘Green Lantern’ jerseys – a tie-in with their kit suppliers BLK and DC Comics.
Pat Lam’s men played almost all of the rugby in the first half, their execution and intensity far superior to Munster’s as Tiernan O’Halloran’s opportunist 17th-minute try gave them a deserved 10-5 interval lead.
Munster, who answered with a Niall Scannell maul try, made notable improvements to their play in the third quarter, but a 33-metre penalty from Craig Ronaldson edged Connacht further in front.
The westerners then suffered the double blow of a 65th-minute penalty try and a sin-binning for their captain John Muldoon for pulling back Andrew Conway in a try-scoring situation.
However, Lam’s side showed impressive resilience in defence before Robbie Henshaw’s excellent offload out of a tackle sent Aki through for the clinching five-pointer.
“I am tremendously proud. I love history and I respect it because it tells you where you come from, but the vision decides where you are going,” Lam told Sky Sports.
“When I arrived at Connacht, a lot of people told me where they are and where they belong and so forth, and the first thing we needed to remove was the chip on the shoulder.’’
