Connacht can still earn Challenge Cup knock-out place despite Exeter loss

CONNACHT are down but not out. The province’s season took another turn for the worse at the weekend as their hopes of advancing to the knockout stage of the European Challenge Cup were dented by a disappointing defeat to Exeter on Sunday.

The 24-33 result at home, coming nine days after Edinburgh put a halt to Connacht’s gallop in the Guinness Pro 12, heaps big pressure on the players to perform this coming weekend in France.

Despite suffering a second consecutive loss at the Sportsground, Pat Lam’s men can still qualify for the Cup quarter-final if they beat La Rochelle away on Saturday, and results elsewhere are favourable.

Any manner of win against La Rochelle will see Connacht advance to the play-offs as one of the three best placed runners-up of the five pools, provided Edinburgh can do them a favour and beat Begles-Bordeaux in a winner-takes-all top of the table clash in pool 4.

There will be much soul-searching in the camp ahead of their visit to Stade Marcel-Deflandre on Saturday (5.30pm) after they blew a winning hand against Exeter.

Leading by 17-10 at the break, Connacht had played most of the rugby, but they were completely steamrolled in the second half by a bruising English Premiership pack that bullied them into submission.

It is worrying that for the second week running, Connacht were beaten up up-front and while they sparkled in the back-line out-wide, matches are won and lost in the forwards battle.

Exeter’s front eight were beasts but the Westerners didn’t do themselves any favours: They finished on the wrong side of a 13-4 penalty count, which is criminal; they conceded countless turnovers, including gifting Exeter a break-away try with a loose pass, and they were second best in the scrum department.

What was noticeable once again is Connacht’s energy levels, the intensity of tackling and competing at the breakdown, was below what is required to win at this level.

They were simply awful in that crucial period of the match, 15 minutes after half-time, when Exeter strangled the hosts with devastating display of power.

Tries from Dean Mumm and Don Armand were converted by Henry Slade, who also landed two penalties, as Exeter turned the screw and went from being seven points down at the break to leading by 13.

Connacht never gave up but the damage was done and they were always chasing for a bonus rather than the win.

They got one bonus – having scored four tries – and they almost earned a second losing bonus only for Darragh Leader’s penalty late-on agonisingly sailed wind.

It was a different story earlier as Connacht started brightly – something they have been struggling to do – with intricate and incisive back play, in particular from winger Matt Healy, giving the crowd something to cheer about. Two-try Healy, who according to the match stats made 152 metres, would certainly have caught the eye of Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt who was in the crowd.

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