United Rugby Championship: Connacht suffer heavy defeat against Bulls

Van der Welt kicked five conversions for the Bulls against Connacht

Connacht's good run of form in the United Rugby Championship came to an end as they suffered a bonus-point defeat against the Bulls.

They were second best for large periods of the contest in sweltering heat in South Africa as they lost only their second game of the season.

Bulls held a commanding 32-13 lead at the break after scoring four first-half tries.

Connacht's next game is against Leinster in Galway.

Peter Wilkins made six changes from the Connacht side who had edged the Sharks 13-12 in Durban last weekend.

Jack Carty returned at out-half to captain the side, with Sean Jansen making his debut after a summer move from Leicester Tigers.

Carty split the posts with an early penalty for Connacht in Pretoria, before Jacob Van der Walt replied for the South African side with their own penalty.

The first Bulls try arrived on 12 minutes with Akker Van der Merwe crossing at the corner after a slick move from the maul, but Van der Walt was unable to add the conversion.

Elrigh Louw recorded their second try eight minutes later, as he spotted a gap and dived over after a number of attacking phases from the home side.

Sustained pressure from the Bulls continued to pay off as Van der Walt further extended their advantage with another penalty.

Carty responded with his and Connacht's second penalty of the afternoon.

On 35 minutes Zak Burger produced a fine dummy before picking out captain Ruan Nortje, who touched down for the Bulls' third try. Van der Walt added the extras from the conversion.

Two minutes later Diarmuid Killagen strode over for Connacht's first try after latching onto Cathal Forde's lay-off.

Debutant Willie le Roux re-established the Bulls' commanding lead with a late try in the half, with Van der Welt kicking the conversion.

Soon after the restart, Burger thought he had scored a try of his own after Van der Welt had raced forward on a turnover, but it was ruled out for deliberate knock-on.

That decision seemed to galvanise Connacht, who then enjoyed their best spell of the game and got their first try on 47 minutes.

Tadgh McElroy registered his first Connacht try, edging over after a good use of the maul from the visitors, with Carty kicking the conversion.

The momentum swung back in the Bulls' favour on 57 minutes, with Conor Oliver sent to the sin bin and then from the penalty Nizaam Carr scored another try for Bulls. Van der Walt added two points from the spot.

Connacht began to tire after the hour mark and struggled to cope with wave after wave of attack from the Bulls.

David Kriel capitalised on a handling mistake from Killagen to cross, with Van der Welt again on hand to kick the conversion.

Replacement Chris Smith skipped over for the Bulls' final try after a neat passage of offloads, before he added the conversion.

Connacht added a late try of their own two minutes before the end with Shamus Hurley-Langton powering over then kicking the conversion.

Connacht: Tiernan O'Halloran; Byron Ralston, David Hawkshaw, Cathal Forde, Diarmuid Kilgallen; Jack Carty (capt), Colm Reilly; Denis Buckley, McElroy, Finlay Bealham; Darragh Murray, Joe Joyce, Oisin Dowling, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Sean Jansen.

Replacements: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Peter Dooley, Sam Illo, Niall Murray, Sean O'Brien, Caolin Blade, JJ Hanrahan, Conor Oliver.

Bulls: Gerhard Steenekamp, Akker van der Merwe, Wilco Louw, Reinhardt Ludwig, Ruan Nortje (capt), Marco van Staden, Elrigh Louw, Nizaam Carr, Zak Burger, Jaco van der Walt, Sergeal Petersen, David Kriel, Stedman Gans, Sebastian de Klerk, Willie le Roux.

Replacements: Simphiwe Matanzima, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Mornay Smith, Janko Swanepoel, Cyle Brink, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Canan Moodie.