Cardiff 14 - 8 Connacht

Full time

11 Oct 2025

Stage: Regular Season Round 3

Cardiff Arms Park

Cardiff Rugby secured a hard-fought 14-8 victory over Connacht Rugby at Cardiff Arms Park. The home side took an early lead with a try from Bowen in the 13th minute, followed by a successful conversion from Sheedy. Connacht responded with a penalty from Forde shortly after but struggled to maintain momentum. Bowen scored again in the 75th minute, extending Cardiff's lead, while Ioan Lloyd added the conversion. Connacht managed to score a late try through O'Connor, but it wasn't enough to turn the tide. Both teams made multiple substitutions, with Cardiff's tactical changes proving effective. This match marked a significant win for Cardiff, reversing a string of recent defeats to Connacht.

Weather

Temperature: 13.3°C (Feels like 13.1°C) Condition: MostlyCloudy Wind: 6.2 km/h, gusting to 12.5 km/h Humidity: 80% Cloud Cover: 86%

Highlights

Events

Kickoff
10'

Penalty

Cathal Forde · Connacht

0 - 3
13'

Try

Tom Bowen · Cardiff

5 - 3
14'

Conversion

Callum Sheedy · Cardiff

7 - 3
32'

Substitution

George Nott on for Teddy Williams · Cardiff
34'

Substitution

Jordan Duggan on for Denis Buckley · Connacht
Halftime 7 - 3
Second Half
45'

Substitution

Finn Treacy on for Shayne Bolton · Connacht
50'

Substitution

Hugh Gavin on for David Hawkshaw · Connacht
50'

Substitution

Shamus Hurley-Langton on for Sean O'Brien · Connacht
52'

Substitution

Rhys Barratt on for Danny Southworth · Cardiff
52'

Substitution

Javan Sebastian on for Keiron Assiratti · Cardiff
53'

Substitution

Eoin de Buitlear on for Jack Aungier · Connacht
53'

Substitution

Sam Illo on for Joe Joyce · Connacht
53'

Substitution

David O'Connor on for Finn Treacy · Connacht
53'

Substitution

Shayne Bolton on for Liam Belcher · Connacht
59'

Substitution

Dafydd Hughes on for Jack Carty · Cardiff
60'

Substitution

Finn Treacy on for Dan Thomas · Connacht
65'

Substitution

Taine Basham on for Johan Mulder · Cardiff
65'

Substitution

Aled Davies on for Ben Murphy · Cardiff
68'

Substitution

Matthew Devine on for Callum Sheedy · Connacht
69'

Substitution

Ioan Lloyd on for Steffan Emanuel · Cardiff
75'

Try

Tom Bowen · Cardiff

12 - 3
76'

Conversion

Ioan Lloyd · Cardiff

14 - 3
76'

Substitution

Osian Darwin-Lewis on for Harri Millard · Cardiff
84'

Try

David O'Connor · Connacht

14 - 8
Fulltime 14 - 8

Player ratings

Cardiff

15 Cameron Winnett 8.0
14 Jacob Beetham 5.8
13 Harri Millard 7.7
12 Steffan Emanuel 7.2
11 Tom Bowen 8.4
10 Callum Sheedy 7.6
9 Johan Mulder 6.1
1 Danny Southworth 6.7
2 Liam Belcher 8.0
3 Keiron Assiratti 6.9
4 Josh McNally 6.5
5 Teddy Williams 6.4
6 Ben Donnell 8.0
7 Dan Thomas 6.6
8 Alun Lawrence 8.2
16 Dafydd Hughes 6.8
17 Rhys Barratt 7.0
18 Javan Sebastian 7.2
19 George Nott 7.2
20 Taine Basham 6.4
21 Aled Davies 6.6
22 Ioan Lloyd 6.3
23 Osian Darwin-Lewis –

Connacht

15 Sean Naughton 6.1
14 Chay Mullins 7.5
13 David Hawkshaw 6.3
12 Cathal Forde 7.8
11 Shayne Bolton 5.9
10 Jack Carty 6.5
9 Ben Murphy 5.8
1 Denis Buckley 5.6
2 Dave Heffernan 7.5
3 Jack Aungier 7.0
4 Darragh Murray 6.5
5 Joe Joyce 6.9
6 Cian Prendergast 6.4
7 Sean O'Brien 7.6
8 Sean Jansen 8.0
16 Eoin de Buitlear 6.5
17 Jordan Duggan 6.2
18 Sam Illo 5.9
19 David O'Connor 7.0
20 Shamus Hurley-Langton 7.0
21 Matthew Devine 6.0
22 Hugh Gavin 6.3
23 Finn Treacy 5.4