Victory over Kings crucial for Connacht playoff hopes

Under pressure Connacht coach Andy Friend says victory over the Isuzu Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth on Sunday is crucial if his team want to qualify for the Guinness PRO14 playoffs.

The Irish side missed a chance to move into a playoff berth when they were beaten 41-14 by Edinburgh at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Connacht’s hope of jumping into the top three were dashed after the Galway side came away from Murrayfield with no championship points.

Against the Conference B leaders Connacht were outmuscled by a strong Edinburgh side that gave little away and starved the visitors of possession.

A determined Friend, however, has promised that the battle for a playoff berth is far from over despite injuries to his squad.

“We against said.

“There were a couple of crucial errors, and it was one of those nights where the team that makes the most out of the other team’s errors is the team that is going to win, and that was Edinburgh.

“We didn’t manage the game as well as we needed to.

Connacht started the second half well and we got within six gave away Edinburgh,” control Friend points but lost a crucial turnover down in the bottom corner and from the ensuing scrum they scored and the game got away from us.”

“We are chasing now, which won’t be sweet.

“We said this block during the Six Nations was really important. We got five points out of the first game against Cardiff and no points out of the Edinburgh game.

“So the next one against the Kings in SA is crucial. We’re still alive,” Friend said.

“It was really disappointing. The opening 40 minutes, we just had too many errors and that gave them the chance to build a lead. We started to try to chase it down but left ourselves too much work.”

To add to Connacht’s woes, prop Finlay Bealham was taken off on a stretcher in the opening minutes after damaging an ankle and was taken to hospital.

There were numerous other lesser injuries that might affect selection for the Kings clash.

“We had a couple of shoulders and necks and all the rest. We will have to see how they get on,” Friend said.

“We’ve had that all year. It’s been one of those years, but we’ll keep working through it, and there is a long way to go in the competition.”

The Kings lost their sixth consecutive PRO14 match when they were beaten 36-17 by Scarlets on Sunday.