Sports
Below-par Connacht scalped by the Chiefs
Exeter Chiefs 33
Connacht 13
There’s solace to be found in the fact that Saturday’s below-par display by Connacht in Exeter was a rare lapse in this campaign, but for the first time this season, damage limitation became part of the equation as Connacht were forced to take positives from the fact that they halted the Chiefs just as they were about to really cut loose.
At the superbly well-equipped and atmospheric Sandy Park on the edge of the Devon town, a much changed Connacht line-up struggled to find a cohesive game plan, conceded five tries in 50 minutes and found themselves taking solace at mere act of keeping their try line intact for the final half hour.
This was the kind of comprehensive bulldozing defeat that only the English Premiership sides can deliver. If you let them get their tails up they’ll power through every gap, pounce on every mistake and exude an air of invincibility in every try. It wasn’t awe inspiring fast-paced rugby, but it was ruthlessly efficient all the same.
Whether or not the Chiefs look as superior in Galway in the return leg next January is an entirely different proposition but the five point haul from this contest might render that game academic as far as qualification from this group is concerned, unless Connacht can record home and away wins against Bayonne in December.
The Chiefs have emerged as a Premiership force just four short years after their promotion. Four wins from six to start this campaign underlines as much. They were at full strength here but didn’t have to hit any heights in the performance. Three first-half tries, including one with the last play of the half, had Exeter 19-6 ahead at half time and looking certain of a full five point return.
The first 40 minutes were as error-strewn and lax as anything Connacht have produced this season. Faced with a blitz defence of ferocious intensity, the visitors looked rattled and fragile on almost every play. Their much-changed line-up exulted clear signs of a team that was out of tune and unable to find an effective tempo.
As Pat Lam and assistant coach Dan McFarland sat down to pick the team with the rest of their management team last week, they had a serious dilemma. The six day turnaround before the crucial Pro 12 away clash at the league leading Ospreys was always going to take precedence.
The list of rested front liners included captain John Muldoon and scrum-half Kieran Marmion, both vital assets during the season to date. Quinn Roux was also kept at home with Michael Swift drafted in for the destructive second row role; while Jack Carty was on the bench, paving the way for an entirely different half-back partnership of Ian Porter and Craig Ronaldson.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GALWAY United need to guard against any kind of complacency when they make the short hop down the M18 this Friday to take on Treaty United at the Markets Field (7.45pm).
The game is a meeting of the two form teams in the division, and as in previous meetings between the sides, will have an additional edge given the number of former United players in the home side’s ranks, and the pair of Limerick lads playing for United.
There might have been just the eight meetings between the sides since Treaty became the latest iteration to represent Limerick in the League of Ireland in 2021, and while United have yet to lose to the men in the candy-cane strips, there has never been more than a goal in four of their eight wins.
The most recent of those was back in February, when Rob Slevin scored the only goal of the game in Eamonn Deacy Park after a tough battle against a side who made a slow start to the season, before finally finding their groove in the past month.
Having taken just three points from their first six games before finally getting a win against Longford Town, they reverted to type with just one point from their next three games, but are now on a run of four wins on the spin, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one.
Their most recent win was a 3-0 victory away to Longford Town last Saturday, and they could have won by double that against the only side to have beaten United this season. That in itself is a warning.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Soccer Wrap with Mike Rafferty
While the Salthill Devon men’s team might have lost their grip on the Connacht Junior Cup that they held for two seasons, the club’s women’s side have picked up the mantle and on Sunday last in Headford were crowned provincial champions with a 4-3 win over Manulla.
Following midweek wins for Maree/Oranmore and Knocknacarra, the stage is now almost set for the semi-finals of the Michael Byrne Cup with Salthill Devon meeting St Bernard’s on Sunday in an outstanding quarter-final, with the winners advancing to a semi-final against Maree/Oranmore, while Colga will face Knocknacarra in the other last four contest.
Just one league issue remains to be decided, with the Championship runners-up position up for grabs, as Dynamo Blues have to win their two remaining games in order to overtake Colemanstown United who have finished their programme.
WOMEN’S CONNACHT CUP FINAL
Salthill Devon 4
Manulla 3
Ellerose O’Flaherty scored twice as Salthill Devon were crowned provincial champions with a win over a Mayo side who were losing in the final for the second year in succession.
Backboned by a number of players who previously had League of Ireland experience with Galway WFC, Devon suffered an early set back when Jess Nolan put Manulla ahead, before O’Flaherty levelled matters with a cracking finish on 20 minutes, which was quickly followed by a long-range free-kick from Aoife Walsh.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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