Connacht came away from Port Elizabeth with a hard-earned 31-14 Guinness Pro14 victory against the Southern Kings on Sunday afternoon.
And Friend's men moved up to second in Conference A, ahead of Munster's clash with Zebre.
They made a positive start at the Nelson Mandela University Stadium, Jack Carty defying blustery conditions to a nail a fourth-minute penalty.
Seven minutes later it got even better. Cian Kelleher galloped over the whitewash and Carty added the extras to make it 10-0.
Southern Kings threatened sporadically and got back into the game on 25 minutes when Masixole Banda jinked through for a fine individual try that he converted himself.
But they came undone when loosehead Lupumlo Mguca was yellow-carded and Connacht swiftly made hay, winning a penalty try after sustained dominance in the scrum.
Matt Healy got in again just before the break to give the Westerners a 24-7 half-time lead.
Ntabeni Dukisa's try injected belief in the hosts early in the second half but once Paul Boyle wrapped up the bonus for Connacht it was never in doubt.
David Horwitz converted it this time and the visitors saw it out.
Thank you again to all those who made the trip today. We’re glad we’ve made it worthwhile so far! #ConnachtOnTour 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/Usbw6I7nBx
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) November 25, 2018
