Pro14: Aki stars as clinical Connacht see off Glasgow

Bundee Aki scores a tryInpho

Bundee Aki was in impressive form for the hosts

Guinness Pro14:

Connacht: (3) 28

Tries: Aki 2, Roux Cons: Carty 2 Pens: Carty 3

Glasgow Warriors: (7) 24

Tries: Grigg, Jones, Seymour Cons: Hastings 3 Pen: Hastings

Connacht got their Pro14 campaign off to a winning start with a 28-24 victory over Glasgow Warriors at the Sportsground.

Jack Carty's early penalty opened the scoring but Glasgow led at the break through Nick Grigg's well-taken try at the end of the half.

There was a flurry of tries after the restart, with Bundee Aki scoring twice either side of Quinn Roux's score.

Scotland internationals Huw Jones and Tommy Seymour crossed for the visitors.

The fixture was the first Pro14 game at the Sportsground in seven months and 200 supporters were in attendance.

Connacht opened the scoring through Jack Carty's well-struck penalty on two minutes however the Ireland fly-half missed a second attempt shortly after.

Try-scoring opportunities were at a premium at the Sportsground, with Glasgow having the better of the play but the visitors couldn't find a way through the Connacht defence.

The first half was riddled with 15 penalties and home lock Quinn Roux was sent to the sin bin on 19 minutes after a no-arms tackle as Glasgow camped in the home half.

Hastings missed the straightforward penalty from inside the 22 to give Connacht a let off, however the fly-half was involved in Grigg's try with a strong half-break before teeing up the centre to cross over.

Aki impresses in second-half show

If the first half was low scoring, the second was anything but that. Hastings kicked a long-range penalty to extend Glasgow's lead to 10 points shortly after the restart.

Alex Wootton attempted to burst Connacht back into life and collected his own chip to race into the Glasgow 22, however the visiting defence stood firm and the winger was bundled into touch.

Aki grabbed Connacht's first try of the season on 50 minutes after some smart play by centre partner Tom Farrell before Carty levelled the game with the subsequent conversion.

Connacht kept pushing after drawing level and Roux powered his way over seven minutes later after some strong work by the home pack, punishing Glasgow for some rushed clearance kicks.

©INPHO/James Crombie

Scotland international Huw Jones scored a brilliant individual try

Full-back Jones was the next to get on the scoresheet on the hour mark, finishing off a scintillating run however an immediate response from the boot of Carty restored Connacht's advantage.

Ireland international Aki collected Wootton's chip to touch down his second try of the match on 65 minutes before Grigg's break set-up Tommy Seymour with nine minutes to play, with Hastings kicking the conversion to put a point between the sides.

However Carty landed a long-range penalty to put daylight between the sides and Connacht held on to secure their first win over a Scottish team since April 2019, when Andy Friend's men beat Edinburgh.

Glasgow fell short despite their best efforts in the dying moments, however Danny Wilson's outfit left Galway with a losing bonus-point to get their first point of the season on the board.

Connacht: Porch; Sullivan, Farrell, Aki, Wootton; Carty, Marmion; Buckley, Heffernan, Bealham; Thornbury, Roux; Butler (capt), Oliver, Boyle.

Replacements: Murphy, Duggan, Aungier, Murray, Masterson, Blade, Fitzgerald, Arnold.

Glasgow Warriors: Jones; Seymour, Grigg, McDowall, Nairn; Hastings, Price; Kebble, Brown, Rae; Harley, Cummings; Wilson, Fusaro, Fagerson.

Replacements: Turner, Seiuli, Pieretto, Gray, Lokotui, G Horne, P Horne, Tagive.