Connacht 5-41 Bordeaux Begles: Irish province hammered in Champions Cup opener

Romain Buros' try helped Bordeaux lead 12-5 at half-time in Galway

Bordeaux-Begles handed Connacht a 41-5 home hammering in the opening Pool 1 game in the Investec Champions Cup.

Romain Buros and Damian Penaud notched first-half Bordeaux tries, either side of a Shamus Hurley-Langton score, as the visitors led 12-5 at half-time.

Wing Pablo Uberti added two second-half Bordeaux tries with the rout completed by Buros' second touchdown and a further penalty try.

Connacht's misery was compounded by a first-half injury to Mack Hansen.

The Ireland wing - who had started at full-back - pulled up with an apparent ankle injury after 22 minutes and played no further part in the contest.

Pete Wilkins' home side barely landed a glove on the French outfit, beyond the first 20 minutes.

Despite the hosts looking the more threating in the opening plays of the game, it was the visitors who opened the scoring in their first attack on 10 minutes as they sliced through Connacht's defence, with Buros getting his opening touchdown.

Ireland wing Mack Hansen hobbled off in the first half with an apparent ankle injury

After Maxime Lucu added the extras, Connacht briefly rallied six minutes later with Hurley-Langton spotting a gap down the blindside to touch down as the home side mauled towards the Bordeaux line.

But that was as good as it got for the Irish province as JJ Hanrahan missed the conversion before Hansen sustained his injury.

The deflation around the Sportsground was intensified just three minutes later when French star Penaud finished off a second Bordeaux try.

Connacht had looked comfortable in defence, but just one midfield offload created a break as ball was spread wide left to Penaud who ran in his eighth try in five games for Bordeaux this season.

Connacht lost a hold in the opening period thereafter as Begles upped the pace and the threat. However, it remained 12-5 to the visitors at the break.

Bordeaux tear Connacht to shreds

Whatever Wilkins said to his Connacht players at the break had little effect as Bordeaux tore them to shreds just three minutes after the restart.

A sniping break from Lucu led to a smart offload and a try for Uberti beside the posts, with Lucu adding the extras.

In a carbon copy of the first period, Connacht pushed hard close to the Bordeaux line, but ultimately came away with nothing and on 54 minutes were punished again by a ruthless away attack.

Lucu made the break as the Connacht defence opened up in front of him and while Bundee Aki did well to stop him short, Bordeaux then spun the ball wide for Buros to seal the bonus point.

Connacht indiscipline was punished by a Lucu penalty before things went from bad to worse on 66 minutes when the hosts were shoved back in a five-metre scrum which led referee Karl Dickson to signal the penalty try.

As Connacht began to fall off more and more tackles there was an inevitability to the end of the game as Uberti got his second try of the night.

Connacht: Hansen; Ralston, Forde, Aki, Smith; Hanrahan, Blade; Buckley, Heffernan, Bealham; Murray, Joyce; Prendergast, Hurley-Langton, Jansen.

Replacements: McElroy, Dooley, Aungier, Murray, Oliver, McDonald, Hawkshaw, Porch.

Bordeaux-Begles: Buros; Penaud, Depoortere, Tapuai, Uberti; Jalibert, Lucu; Boniface, Maynadier, Falatea; Petti, Jolmes; Bochaton, Samu, Tatafu.

Replacements: Lamothe, Tameifuna, Sadie, Ricard, Vergnes-Taillefer, Miguel, Abadie, Ducuing.

Referee: K Dickson (England)