Connacht fail to take their chances in tough contest

Wasps 32

Connacht 17

SINCE that glorious day in Edinburgh back in May, the news feed emanating from Connacht has not been good and we all need to acknowledge that at this stage.

Bar a few wonderful weeks in October – where they toppled Ulster and Toulouse and announced extended deals for Ultan Dillane and Bundee Aki – it has been one frustrating story after another.

Connacht arrived in Coventry on Sunday hoping to kick start a new narrative, a European Champions Cup story like never before. They are the first squad from the province to be a genuine quarter-final contender and the PRO12 champions took to the field in the Ricoh Arena rightfully bullish about their prospects, despite the home side’s glowing reputation.

It was a tough contest but by the 60 minute mark, all seemed well for the men from the west. They trailed by just three, owned the possession and territory stats and had sorted out the lineout which misfired badly for much of the first half. For a brief moment we wondered if this was to be the turning point in the campaign, what better way to push back against a tide of bad news than with a huge win in Europe’s major competition.

Alas, it wasn’t to be. Jack Carty missed a kick to level the game and within a couple of minutes, Wasps notched a try from their captain Joe Launchbury for a ten point swing. That was game over for Coventry based side, a bonus point fourth try was inevitable from there on and it came around the 70 minute mark from Josh Bassett.

Connacht trundled off the field in the end, well beaten and with a multitude of new injuries to contend with ahead of the return leg on Saturday. They’ve no out half left to back up Jack Carty, no fully fit experienced centre option outside of Rory Parata (who by the way, is covering ten too). Wingers are dropping like flies, plenty of flankers and second rows are unavailable too. Only Carty attempted kicks in the warm up.

The bad news just keeps coming, Tiernan O’Halloran and Bundee Aki are touch and go for the rematch with Wasps in Galway. The longer term list of injured backs now includes Cian Kelleher, Peter Robb, Craig Ronaldson, Shane O’Leary, Stacey Ili and most disappointingly of all key signing Marnitz Boshoff – out until least March with a serious shoulder injury.

Connacht are not converting scoring chances at anything like the rate they need to this year. In almost every away game this season they have had a shed load of possession and territory, but botched chance after chance. Fixtures against Scarlets, Leinster, the Dragons and now Wasps. All lost by more than a score, all marked by a failure to convert. The one exception came against the totally inept opposition Zebre in October.

It was a familiar tale Sunday as they burst out of the blocks with great moments of attacking play that underline why their supporters still fully believe the team can turn a corner. A bulldozing scrum against the head where the excellent Conor Carey drove into Matt Mullen and Denis Buckley completely overwhelmed ten-time capped Irish international Marty Moore set the tone.

Full coverage in this week’s Connacht Tribune