United Rugby Championship: Connacht cruise to 43-24 bonus-point win over Lions

Caolin Blade goes over for his third try against the Lions in Galway

Connacht secured an impressive 43-24 bonus-point win over the Lions as Jack Carty passed the all-time leading points-scoring record for the province.

Diarmuid Kilgallen, Shane Delahunt, Caolin Blade and Tiernan O'Halloran touched down for Connacht in the first half at the Sportsground.

Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Henco van Wyk scored tries for the Lions, who trailed 29-17 at the break.

Blade completed his hat-trick while Marius Louw went over for the visitors.

With Connacht playing catch-up on the top eight in the United Rugby Championship, a win was crucial for Andy Friend's side in order to give them hope as they seek to position themselves for a spot in the play-offs.

Connacht were without their four Ireland squad members as the Lions hoped to seize their opportunity to become the first South African side to win in Galway.

It was a night to remember for Jack Carty as he set a new Connacht points record

The game exploded into life with an early try from winger Kilgallen, who exploited a gaping hole in the Lions defence to get his side off the mark.

The teams traded penalties but it was the Lions who scored next, with prop Ntlabakanye powering over from short distance to put the visitors ahead.

The back and forth continued as hooker Delahunt muscled his way over for Connacht's second of the night.

A well taken try from scrum-half Blade minutes later gave out-half Carty the opportunity to take a successful shot at goal and pass the all-time points record for Connacht as Eric Elwood, the previous holder of the record, watched from the stands.

The sides exchanges tries just before the break, with Connacht the more dominant of the two sides and leading by 12 points at half-time.

Connacht started the second half with intent, with Blade dotting down for his second try following a charged down kick. The hosts had the ascendancy in the free-flowing and fast paced third quarter and Blade completed his treble as the game passed the hour mark.

A dogged Lions side hit back through a well-taken try from captain Louw but the game was over as a contest at this stage. Connacht continued to dominate in terms of both territory and possession as the Lions struggled to gain a foothold due to a high number of unforced errors.

Connacht: T O'Halloran; D Kilgallen, T Farrell, C Forde, J Porch; J Carty (capt), C Blade; P Dooley, S Delahunt, J Aungier; D Murray, N Murray; J Murphy, C Oliver, J Butler.

Replacements: D Tierney-Martin, J Duggan, D Robertson-McCoy, L Fifita, S Hurley-Langton, K Marmion, T Daly, O McNulty.

Lions: Q Horn; S Pienaar, H van Wyk, M Louw (capt), E van der Merwe; J Hendrikse, A Warner; J Smith, P Botha, A Ntlabakanye; W Alberts, D Landsberg; S Sangweni, E van Heerden, E Tshituka.

Replacements: M van Vuuren, M Naude, R Smith, P Jansen van Vuren, J Kriel, M van den Berg, M Rass, A Coetzee.

Referee: Paul Williams (NZR)