Resounding win for Connacht on big occasion for Mayo player

In what was Mayo man Dave Heffernan's 150th appearance for his home province, Connacht turned on the style to beat Ospreys 46-18 yesterday evening.

They ran in seven tries in atrocious conditions at The Sportsground, all of them scored by the backs.

It was Connacht's third victory in their United Rugby Championship campaign, building on the victory over Ulster at the Aviva Stadium before the international break.

Connacht head coach was happy with the performance, telling RTÉ Sport: “I thought a lot of the key principles that we keep talking about that have been instilled in the fellas, the tight lines, the bodies in motion, the running squad - we saw that and you can see a real air of confidence starting to grow in the team.

“We got to a point where we were a little bit confident and didn't respect the ball like we needed to.

“They're a good side, Ospreys. To be able to come away with a scoreline like that is pleasing.”

Ballina man Heffernan started the game and completed 49 minutes before making way for Shane Delahunt.