Bad day at the office for below par Connacht

Scarlets 32

Connacht 14

YOUR attention for a moment please. If you’re the atypical supporter, you will want to avert your eyes and ears from all things Connacht this week after the province succumbed to an all too familiar drubbing on their travels in Wales, but this story can’t be solely framed in the ‘been there, done that’ category and there is plenty of reason to remain engaged, for now at least.

All is not lost. Good vibes are dissipating with each defeat (two wins from their last seven now) but those vibes are tempered with the fact that, in terms of the league standings, life is very different. Connacht are clinging to sixth in the Pro12 after 14 rounds of action. That’s hardly normal.

There’s no point dissecting this calamitous Sunday matinee in west Wales without at least grounding it all in that new reality. Trends suggest Connacht are on the slide but the opportunity to rectify that very same slide cannot be ignored and hope comes in what has gone before during this campaign.

That’s the backdrop. Sunday’s game was of enormous importance. Llanelli were trying to stay in the race for sixth, five points back from Connacht and worried. They had six involved with Wales yet, as clearly highlighted in this outcome, they have a deep panel which allows them overcome these types of obstacles.

The westerners started like a steam train, three points from Jack Carty off a brilliant kick return involving Darragh Leader and Matt Healy. Then a neatly placed kick from the Athlone 10 which set up an attacking line out. The catch and drive in the 22 resulted in a penalty and a yellow card against home captain John Barclay.

Tom McCartney connected with Quinn Roux on the ensuing lineout five metres out and an early ten point lead seemed on the cards, it was the perfect start. That was until the seven man Scarlets pack orchestrated a hugely important counter drive, forcing a turnover as a result of unused maul possession and setting an alarming tone.

The next ten minutes were exemplary from the hosts, they scored two penalties in quick succession while down to 14 and by the time Barclay returned, Connacht were making mistakes and getting punished. Michael Tagicakibau scored the first try, Regan King’s pass made it, and the defending was less than exemplary.

Full match rerport in this week’s Connacht Tribune