These are the type of wins Connacht need to thrive
WELL this is a little bit different! There’s a great view from the pressbox, which is advantageous, but looking in across the hedge at your former team-mates is a strange experience. Once I decided that I wasn’t going to play on any longer I knew that I wanted to stay in the game in some way, so I’ve already tasted a bit of media work, which I’ve loved, and started to add to my coaching experience too. I’d done bits of coaching here and there over the years, doing some position-specific work with the Connacht U-17s and U-18s alongside academy coaches Colm Tucker and Ambrose Conboy. That was where the seed was sewn for me, doing the lineout basics with the lads, running though the fundamentals of jumping and calling. After I’d finished up playing I got chatting to Galwegians coach Brian McClearn and he asked me to come on board with him to do some work with the lineout and defence. It’s in its early days, but last weekend we lost to a penalty try with the last play of the game against Buccaneers. Being responsible, on the sidelines...it’s a helpless place.
Conscious
But it was a conscious decision on my part to move into coaching as soon as possible. I want to stay involved for as long as I can; I still love the game and have gotten a great buzz from the last few weeks. I think that’s a natural progression for me. It’s funny, already I’m watching the game a little differently than before. Before, it was all about lineouts for me and while that still remains a big focus, it’s important to develop the bigger picture. Recognising attack shapes, defensive systems, breakdown techniques and even kicking strategies are all part of developing as a coach now. I’m a bit of a nerd of the game anyway so I’m sure I’ll enjoy broadening my knowledge of those areas. The performances from the Glasgow to the Zebre games were very contrasting but the conditions were very different so it is difficult to compare and contrast. While they had a bit of hard time against Warriors, it was great to see the scrum back to its dominant best last weekend. Crucially, Connacht came up on the right side of the referee straight away. The pack won six penalties from scrums and one of them brought a yellow card for the Zebre tighthead. A good day’s work on that front! As well as the scrum dominance it was pleasing to see them mixing up their play – some of the tactical kicking from the likes of Tiernan and Jack was very good – while Caolin Blade brought great tempo to the game again and the pack did their part in delivering quick ball too. The standout was obviously Paul Boyle and he deserved his man of the match. Training with him last year you could see there was something about him. He’s a good leader already and is very vocal around the place and the boys have responded to that. But it’s great to see him bring that on to the pitch as well. It’s easy to talk about doing something, but when a young guy like that is backing it up with his actions on the pitch, it really earns the respect of his team-mates. Looking at the way Connacht are attacking this season, it seems pretty similar to last year but the difference is that it looks a bit sharper now. Lads have a bit more knowledge and continuity in that shape and they know what they’re trying to do. If they can keep working at it and make sure they’re not too predictable then they’ll get joy from their game-plan. Dave Heffernan is a guy who is working well in that shape and he started the season really well. By all accounts he is training very well and has developed as a real leader within the squad over the past few seasons. He captained Connacht in one of the pre-season games, which tells you how highly-regarded he is among the players and the coaching staff. Andy Friend has obviously come in and spotted Dave’s talents. He’s a very good player but he is being pushed to perform by the competition that’s there. Many people will fancy Shane Delahunt to have a big year after his bright finish to last season, and then you have Tom McCartney who is just back and played for the Eagles at the weekend. Realistically any one of the three could start and excel.
Blend
Tonight I fancy Connacht to win their first away game of the season, but this is a real tough game against Edinburgh. If they can blend the attacking play of the Glasgow game with the strong defence and set-piece from the Zebre game they’ll be really tough to beat here. Overall I’m excited by what Connacht can do this season. They seem to have a very happy camp again, and the players look to have bought into Friend’s approach and plan. These are the games they need to win to thrive this season and I’m confident they can make it two in a row.
Many people will fancy Shane Delahunt to have a big year after his bright finish to last season