Connacht beat Saracens with seven tries in Champions Cup — BBC Sport

Connacht defeated Saracens 45-36 in the opening group-stage match of the Rugby Champions Cup at Dexcom Stadium. The Irish side scored seven tries to their opponents’ six, BBC Sport reports.

Trailing 0-12 at the start

Saracens quickly took a 12-0 lead thanks to tries from Sione Vainikolo and Noah Caluori. However, Connacht responded with 19 unanswered points, with captain Cian Prendergast, Cathal Forde and Seamus Hurley-Langton scoring tries. Before half-time, Hurley-Langton was sent off for 10 minutes, and Nick Tompkins took advantage of the numerical superiority to level the score at 19-19.

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Prendergast and Frawley score doubles

Connacht began the second half a man down, but Bundee Aki helped Prendergast score his second try. Saracens responded quickly, with Owen Farrell and Elliot Daly creating space for Rotimi Segun.

Two tries from Ciaran Frawley and another from substitute Caolin Blade proved decisive. Vainikolo scored a double for Saracens, while a late try from Daly gave the team a chance to earn a losing bonus point. However, Farrell missed the conversion after that try. Connacht also did not receive a bonus point, as they needed to score at least three more tries than their opponents.