FULL TIME: CONNACHT 24-12 SHARKS
Connacht opt to set up one more lineout.
The conversion is missed.
TRY, SHARKS, BLEULER, 24-12:
Bleuler bashes over for his first URC try.
The Sharks lose it on attack and Connacht counter but they spill it into touch on halfway.
The Sharks peg Connacht back in their 22 with aggressive defence.
The Sharks knock on again and the frustration builds.
Connacht trick the referee at scrum time and win a penalty.
Again the scrum is a shambles and more time is chewed up. Not great refereeing.
The Sharks knock it on after losing all the pace to their attack.
The Sharks will have a scrum after a knock on in the lineout.
There is a charge down and some slick hands sees van Vuuren dive over in the corner. But the TMO rules the try out for offside.
Connacht are lucky to get away with an ugly scrum and they clear up to their own 22.
The Sharks have it from a turnover deep in the Connacht half but they knock on inside the opponent's 22.
CONVERSION, SHARKS, FLEURS, 24-7:
Fleurs slots the kick.
TRY, SHARKS, JANSE VAN RENSBURG, 24-5:
A powerful leg drive and dive from Janse Van Rensburg
The Sharks go from successive taps but Connacht hold firm for now.
The Sharks best attack of the game is stopped but illegally and they have the penalty kick.
TRY, CONNACHT, FORD, 24-0:
Ford charges down a kick and will dive on it to score.
Cronje kicks up towards halfway where Connacht will feed a lineout.
A TMO check will be conducted after Connacht scramble it over the line.It will be a Sharks scrum five from their own line.
More faffing about the lineout delays the game further.
The Sharks steal a lineout but then a clearance kick is banged straight into touch.
The Sharks steal a lineout but then a clearance kick is banged straight into touch.
A ludicrously skew lineout throw is allowed before the Sharks are blown up for collapsing the maul.
This scrum is taking an age to get set and when it does it goes backwards but Connacht just about clear.
The Sharks win another penalty but are repelled another time and Connacht win a scrum but the hosts are lucky to not be penalised.
YELLOW CARD, CONNACHT, DELAHUNT, 19-0:
Delahunt collapses the maul and has to go the bin.
The Sharks contest a lineout and then win a penalty after Connacht stray offside.
The match restarts and the Sharks kick deep.
HALF TIME: CONNACHT19-0 SHARKS
CONVERSION, CONNACHT, CARTY, 19-0:
Carty converts.
TRY, CONNACHT, O'HALLORAN, 17-0:
Connacht's O'Halloran runs in unnopposed as the Sharks run out of numbers.
The Sharks make a basic error going back to collect a kick as they seal off a ruck that allows Connacht to pin them back into their 22.
Connacht are a little unlucky as their halfback squirms a little too much in the tackle and the Sharks get the penalty.
The Sharks finally get a decent chase on a kick but Carty finds a good touch up near halfway.
The Sharks gamble on another hoist and get lucky as Connacht knock on.
Penxe produces a brainless kick that goes straight into touch. Connacht lose the lineout though and the Sharks kick.
The Sharks are held up as they try to maul and give up a scrum.
CONVERSION, CONNACHT, CARTY, 12-0:
Carty converts.
TRY, CONNACHT, FORD, 10-0:
Its a brilliant chip and chase and Ford is over for the try.
After the restart Hansen finds touch and then the Sharks butcher the lineout with a skew throw.
The conversion is missed.
TRY, CONNACHT, OLIVER, 5-0:
A simple score but in the conditions the play makes all the sense in the world.
Under pressure the Sharks don't retreat properly before joining a ruck but Connacht go to the lineout again.
Van Rensburg produces a shocking dropball in midifeld. And now we have to scrum again. It goes down straight away, and the referee lectures.
The lineout feed is not straight and this game continues to be a catalogue of errors and slow setpieces.
The Sharks do well to swarm up on Connacht but Koster is pinned in the ruck and penalised. The referee has been gamed there.
A Sharks hoist bounces and goes into touch but then they concede a penalty at the setpiece. However, on their attacking lineout Connacht are nailed for obstruction.
The lineout is worked short and then knocked on by the Sharks and we have to have another scrum.
It takes an age to get the scrum set and when it does the Sharks do enough to win a penalty.
The Sharks get lucky as Connacht knock a high ball on, it wasn't a very good kick but a decent chase did enough to force an error.
Wright kicks down the near touchline and finds it not far outside the Sharks 22, Connacht's attack doesn't make much ground.
The first scrum goes down and has to be reset, when they get it done Connacht kick into the Sharks 22.
Sloppy stuff allround as the Sharks lose their lineout, before winning the ball in the tackle and then knocking on to give Connacht a scrum just inside the Sharks half.
Venter gets over the ball to win the Sharks a relieving penalty.
Connacht have stolen the first Sharks lineout and are quickly forward.
KICK OFF! The Sharks allow the ball to bounce into touch.
Sharks: 15 Anthony Volmink, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Murray Koster, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Marnus Potgieter, 10 Nevaldo Fleurs, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Celimpilo Gumede, 7 Henco Venter, 6 James Venter, 5 Reniel Hugo (captain), 4 Thembelani Bholi, 3 Carlü Sadie, 2 Fezo Mbatha, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Ockie Barnard, 20 Corne Rahl, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Ethan Hooker.
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran. 14 John Porch. 13 Tom Farrell. 12 Cathal Forde. 11 Mack Hansen. 10 Jack Carty (captain). 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 Darragh Murray, 4 Oisín Dowling, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Shane Delahunt, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin. 17 Jordan Duggan. 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy. 19 Leva Fifita, 20 Cian Prendergast, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Conor Fitzgerald, 23 Byron Ralston.
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the United Rugby Championship Round 12 match between Connacht and the Sharks from The Sportsground in Galway.
