Connacht almost pull off a sensational comeback

Connacht 10

Munster 16

LIKE miners hammering away at a wall of granite rock, Connacht valiantly pounded and chiselled away at what is arguably European rugby’s most effective defensive unit on Saturday and didn’t lose heart. For virtually the entire game, Munster repelled everything that came at them, yet with the finish line in sight, they seemed to underestimate the level of resilience in their opponents and were almost caught.

The story of the game should have been a simple one. It was Munster being Munster, crushing the morale of their opponents. Connacht were 16-3 down by the hour mark, Chris Farrell’s try (while Connacht were down to 14 men), a conversion and three penalties from JJ Hanrahan marked Munster’s scores, Connacht’s response came from Jack Carty. So how did the all-powerful visitors go from unbreakable to unstable during those closing minutes.

Not many teams would still be full of the joys of life after eight visits to the opposition 22 without a single point to show for their efforts. Eight times during the game, Connacht had a platform to breakdown the Munster defence and they failed on each and every occasion up to the 75th minute of this bone crunching encounter. They had lost the likes of Sean O’Brien, new signing Ben O’Donnell, Sean Masterson and Finlay Bealham to injury at that point. Each left the field exhausted and in visible discomfort.

That’s not to say those on the field weren’t feeling the force of endless hits from the likes Tadgh Beirne, CJ Standar, Peter O’Mahony and Gavin Coombes either. They were and they were lucky to be in one piece for that matter. Yet it’s not the physical toll that makes the late revival so surprising in this fixture, it’s the mental toll. Just how Connacht managed to still be in the fight searching for a score by the end is worth considering because it might be a positive indication as to what is to come in the coming months.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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