TIME TO KICK ON Getting the best XV on the pitch in August is half the battle
YOU’D imagine that referees dread getting sent down to the Sportsground. Home crowds are always biased towards their own team, but they take local bias to a whole new level down in Galway. It comes from being the perpetual underdog. Connacht have scrapped for everything they’ve got and you would sense that in the stands.
All that changed on that fateful afternoon in Murrayfield in 2016, however, when Pat Lam guided the province to that brilliant Pro12 triumph. Beating Leinster while staying true to their all-action, attacking game made it even more special. It also heightened expectations among the fans. You could feel the frustration among the locals when Toulouse rolled into town last January. As is usually the case, the rain and wind arrived and the hosts rolled up their sleeves for a good old fashioned dog-fight with the kingpins of French rugby. The only problem was that Toulouse brought a gargantuan pack featuring tough customers such as Charlie Faumuina, Joe Tekori and
Jerome Kaino. The visitors would crush Connacht and seal a 21-7 victory, effectively sealing Connacht’s fate in Europe for another season. It was a stark reminder to Andy Friend about the gap in quality when Connacht came up against a top side.
Toulouse would finish that game with 13 men after late bouts of cynical foul play saw Yohan Huget go to the sin bin with Zack Holmes copping a late red card for a brainless high tackle.
There were howls of derision from the stands but anyone walking out of the Sportsground could not deny that Toulouse - for all their late petulance - were a class apart.
A lengthy injury list didn’t help, yet there remains a sense that Connacht should be kicking on now. It’s now four years since that ground-breaking title win in Edinburgh, but progress has been slow. There was a noticeable nose-dive in form when Lam announced his departure to Bristol while his successor Kieran Keane lasted barely a year in the new gig.
Friend has brought stability to the whole organisation since he took over the top job in 2018. He is currently gearing up for his third season in charge in Galway. The Aussie got Connacht back to playing the ambitious, free-wheeling game that was their trademark under Lam. Having finished a lowly sixth in Conference A during that ill-fated season under Keane, Friend’s men surged into third place a year after: making the Pro14 play-offs and securing their place back in the European Champions Cup for good measure.
There was a sense the squad needed freshening up and 12 players have departed during the summer. Some were not surprising but news that Eoin McKeon, who played 137 times for the province, Niyi Adeolokun, a capped international, and Darragh Leader were seeking pastures was something of a shock. Their recruitment hasn’t exactly been earth-shattering, taking in a mix of provincial
castaways and academy rookies. Colby Fainga’a was one of the standout openside flankers in the league over the past few seasons. Bigspending Lyon took notice and offered the Australian a lucrative deal and Fainga’a was off to the Top14. It was a major blow to Connacht and signing up Conor Oliver from Munster is hardly a like-forlike replacement. Oliver is a fine player, who has been unlucky with injuries, but the local support were hardly bouncing off the walls when they heard about that transfer. Likewise, Australian sevens player Ben O’Donnell and Kiwi No8 Abraham Papali’i, who were added to Connacht’s ranks this season. Elsewhere, a big plus was Bundee Aki signing a new three-year deal last November.
Next month’s interprovincial series should provide a good sense of where Connacht are in the provincial pecking order at the moment. The stands in the Aviva Stadium are likely to be empty, but there will be nowhere to hide in Ireland HQ. Leinster, Munster and Ulster will be fully-loaded for these eagerlyawaited derby series.
If Connacht can get their best XV on the pitch then they will give Ulster and Munster a good rattle. The main issue for Friend, going forward, is when the injuries start piling up and the heavyweights arrive into town. Even the diehards in the Clan Terrace can see that.