Stormers win in Galway after wearing down Connacht in the second half

Stormers won as Connacht faltered on opening night. At Dexcom Stadium in Galway, Connacht suffered an opening defeat in the United Rugby Championship, with the South Africans' power gradually wearing down the home side in the second half.

The listed scorers were Warrick Gelant, Sazi Sandi, Vernon Paulo and Ezekiel Ngobeni with the tries, alongside two conversions and a penalty from Jurie Matthee, as well as a conversion from Yaqeen Ahmed. Ahmed's final conversion set the margin at seven points at the final whistle.

Stormers showed their intent early. After six minutes, Ruhan Nel came close to scoring, but Mack Hansen's last-ditch defensive effort kept the scores level. Matthee then opened the scoring from the tee. Following a period of pressure down the left wing, Gelant chased a well-weighted kick to score the first try, which Matthee converted.

The first half was slow to open up for a long time, but it swung in its closing minutes. Connacht stepped up their efforts and Hansen, back after a lengthy absence with a foot injury, grounded the ball to bring his side within a score. Josh Ioane then finished a sweeping move launched after Eoin de Buitlear won possession, sending the hosts into the break ahead of the Cape Town side.

After the restart, Connacht again narrowly prevented a try: Sam Gilbert got underneath Seabelo Senatla to stop him grounding the ball. But Stormers increasingly took control of the contest. Sandi finished a multi-phase attack from John Dobson's side to restore a two-point lead for the visitors with 25 minutes remaining.

Connacht's legs then began to tire. Paulo and then Ngobeni scored two late tries to seal the Stormers win, with their control and game management ensuring the points travelled back to South Africa after the first match of the new season.