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Published 17:16 11 Jan 2020 GMT
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Ultan Dillane wins possession from a line-out ahead of Florian Verhaeghe of Toulouse during the Heineken Champions Cup Pool 5 match at The Sportsground in Galway. (Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile)[/caption]
Andy Friend's side started off brightly and went 7-0 ahead when, after intense mauling pressure, Connacht were awarded a penalty try.
Having started the game on only eight points in the pool standings, an an away date with Montpellier, Connacht would have been seeking the four tries necessary to get an extra bonus point. Instead, however, it was Toulouse that struck next. Jerome Kaino looked to have been held up just shy of the Connacht tryline but referee Luke Pearce, who had yellow-carded Fainga'a minutes earlier, was happy to award to try.
Florian Verhaeghe then blew a handy try-scoring chance after blocking down a Matt Healy kick but the French side got their second score when Julien Marchand dotted down just before half-time.
The death-knell arrived for Connacht on 45 minutes when Jack Carty had a clearing kick blocked down, after scrumhalf Stephen Kerins held onto the ball too long, and former player Pita Ahki pounced on the loose ball. With that, Blade replaced Kerins and Connacht set about getting a try to force themselves back into the match.
Toulouse were reduced to 13 men in the final 10 minutes when Yoann Huget (yellow card) and Zack Holmes (red) were sent from the field for a set of poor tackles on Tiernan O'Halloran. Still, error after error spoiled any dwindling hopes of Connacht even drawing level or, at the very least, getting a losing bonus point.
OUR MAN OF THE MATCH: Jerome Kaino (Toulouse)
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