Keane: All credit goes to players
KIERAN KEANE passed credit for Connacht’s seven-try triumph on to his players after they tore Brive to pieces with a brilliant attacking display at the Sportsground on Saturday.
While it was a long way short of their record 13-try win over Rugby Club El Salvador in 2007, in terms of quality this 55-10 triumph was among the best from Connacht.
Other than one lineout malfunction right at the start of the game they were rock solid and bossed in every area of the park.
Matt Healy stole the headlines with four tries for his team, while Jack Carty was immaculate from the tee and with ball in hand. As well as a 100 per cent return from his nine kicks off the tee, Carty scored a try in the first-half and also laid on crossfield kicks for two other tries.
Truth be told, Brive were well short of the required standard, with poor handling and a leaky defence spoiling their chances, but Keane cared little for personal plaudits.
‘I’m not really interested in that to be honest. So long as the boys are getting better, feeling better about themselves, growing their game, getting competitive, those are the things that I want to achieve,’ said a delighted Keane.
‘I don’t need credit because when you see a performance like that it warms your heart so I’m happy to have a warm heart.
‘Look, everybody had a good day. There was some delightful ambition shown, particularly the kick across from the penalty from Jack.
‘It just shows that they’re starting to enjoy themselves and we’re reaping the rewards from that. They’re feeling good about themselves. I know we’re not world beaters in some people’s eyes but it’s nice to see the boys express themselves and enjoy what they’re doing.’ Whatever about this weekend’s games, but when Connacht host Ulster next Saturday in their preChristmas PRO14 inter-pro, it’s likely we’ll see plenty of action. Between them they accumulated 107 points at home in Europe this weekend, and although Connacht defended stoutly against Brive, Les Kiss’s side are a different level of test. But Keane is hoping to see his side kick on in their domestic competition now, like they did previously on the back of two European wins. Munster were conquered last time and he is happy to have all the ingredients for another derby win. ‘I think everything went our way but we made our own luck which was absolutely pleasing for myself to see that. That Brive side is a very big physical side and Ulster is no different. Let’s see how it rolls. ‘We’ll prepare in the same manner as always. I think the fact that it’s an inter-pro, it’ll bring its own special atmosphere. We’re at home. I think people will come and that’ll make it great and the boys will really respond. ‘We haven’t been really bad in my opinion as it’s been reported. We haven’t been trashed and we haven’t been put to the sword. It says a fair bit about the team and the individuals. And I think we’re making good progress and that’s what the name of the game is. This is just part of the stepping stones. We’ve got three interpros to go over the Christmas spell and this will give us a lot of confidence going into those.’