Connacht vs Saracens: hosts win 45-36 in 13-try Champions Cup opener

Connacht came from 12 points down to beat Saracens 45-36 in Galway. The Irish side opened their Champions Cup pool campaign on Saturday 17 October by scoring seven tries against a club that has won the competition three times.

The game at the Dexcom Stadium produced 13 tries and 81 points. Captain Cian Prendergast and fly-half Ciaran Frawley led the way with two tries apiece for Stuart Lancaster's team.

From 12-0 down to level at the break

Saracens started fast. Sione Vaenuku and Noah Caluori both crossed early to put the visitors 12-0 up.

Connacht replied with 19 points in a row. Prendergast, Cathal Forde and Shamus Hurley-Langton all scored, and the home side took the lead.

They could not hold it until half-time. Hurley-Langton was sent to the sin bin shortly before the break, Nick Tompkins scored for Saracens while he was off, and the teams went in at 19-19.

A missed conversion settles the bonus points

Connacht kept scoring in the second half and finished with seven tries. Saracens were left with nothing from the game. Elliot Daly scored a late try, but Owen Farrell's conversion went wide, and that miss cost them a losing bonus point.

Connacht did not get a bonus point either. This season a team in the pool stage has to score at least three more tries than its opponents to earn one.

Frawley said the win showed what the squad was capable of. "The talent is there, we just needed to make it click," he said. "We showed what we can do when we're all on it."

The result is a lift for a side that sits third from bottom of the United Rugby Championship table after three games, according to BBC Sport.

All the weekend's scores are on our rugby results page.