Connacht bow out but go down fighting at Stormers

Connacht bowed out of the BKT United Rugby Championship after losing their semi-final to the DHL Stormers in Cape Town.

The defeat brings an end to Andy Friend's five-year stint with the Westerners but his side went down fighting.

They took an 8-0 lead early on and were within a converted try with five minutes to play but the holders, helped by 23 points by Manie Libbok and a superb defensive performance, proved too strong and are deservedly back in the final, where they will meet Leinster or Munster.

Fly-half Libbok scored two key first-half tries, as the Stormers rallied from an early 8-0 deficit to claim victory in a thrilling 10-try clash at a windswept DHL Stadium.

The impressive Angelo Davids, Paul De Wet, Marcel Theunissen and Ruhan Nel also crossed for the South African side, with Mack Hansen, Conor Oliver, Shamus Hurley-Langton and Byron Ralston touching down in a losing cause for battling Connacht.

Connacht captain Jack Carty – who kicked his side to victory over Ulster in the quarter-finals – drew first blood when he slotted over a straightforward early penalty as the visitors capitalised on a mistake from Stormers hooker Joseph Dweba and then a collapsed scrum.

More handling errors from the Stormers then laid the foundations for Connacht to score the game's opening try in the 13th minute, Hansen collecting a superb long pass from Carty to dive in at the corner.

Carty missed the touchline conversion and his opposite number Libbok then showed his class as the Stormers hit back in style.

With the champions pushing hard on the left-hand side of the pitch, Libbok picked out the unmarked Davids with a superb cross-field kick and the right winger had the easiest of jobs to touch down.

Libbok, the tournament’s leading points