Caolin Blade’s 22-minute first-half hat-trick catapulted Connacht to an opening 34-26 bonus-point win over the Ospreys in the BKT United Rugby Championship at the Sportsground.
The diminutive scrum-half started the new season in brilliant form, earning his reward for his support running. His half-back partner JJ Hanrahan kicked 12 points as Connacht built a 27-5 half-time lead.
Following up on a late Keelan Giles try, Ospreys cut the gap to eight points after Reuben Morgan-Williams and new signing James Ratti had crossed.
However, they were unable to mark Justin Tipuric’s 200th appearance with a comeback win. A closing effort from influential lock Rhys Davies did earn the Welsh side a try-scoring bonus point but Cathal Forde’s 56th-minute score, converted by Hanrahan, had Connacht too far in front.