Connacht get the job done with facile win over French

Connacht 48

La Rochelle 12

Regardless of their fortunes elsewhere, Connacht have almost always been competitive against French opposition and they boast a particularly healthy record against the underclass of the Top 14, a league that likes to present itself as Europe’s finest.

Rarely, however, have they demolished opponents with such clinical precision as at The Sportsground on Saturday evening where they opened their Challenge Cup campaign with a victory of consummate ease against a hapless La Rochelle side.

Yet, laudable though Connacht’s attacking quality was in fashioning a seven-tries-to-two success despite the swirling gale, the stark reality is that they have encountered few teams of such dubious ability, organisation and resolve in the professional era, certainly not in the Guinness Pro 12 or in any of its previous guises.

With the bonus point and four tries in the bag by the 36th minute, an imposing 29-0 lead meant they could afford the luxury of withdrawing the game’s outstanding personality, scrum-half Kieran Marmion, at the interval to reserve his energies for more obdurate adversaries ahead.

On a superficial level, Connacht had been hugely impressive as Marmion, Darragh Leader and Robbie Henshaw tore holes through the middle of the tepid La Rochelle defence, but enjoyable though it was for 4,700 home crowd, no one is going to invest too much value in this performance.

Indeed, one must seriously question the merits of Europe’s secondary competition now that it has been downgraded by the structural changes that no longer sees the winner secure a place in the following season’s Champions Cup.

And, at best, it generates a lukewarm interest from the lesser-endowed French teams whose premier preoccupation is on avoiding domestic relegation.

Take La Rochelle, for example. They stand eleventh in the Top 14, having won three of their nine games to date (including victories over Toulouse and champions Castres), but for their trip to Galway left seven of their first team at home and made twelve changes in all from their previous outing.

But Connacht can only achieve what is required of them on the day and they performed with impressive efficiency as, initially, they pulverised the visitors up the centre of the field and, later, exposed them out wide to create tries for Henshaw (2), Jack Carty, Marmion, Ronan Loughney, Danie Poolman and Matt Healy.

Coach Pat Lam’s man-management has been exemplary this season and nowhere is it better reflected than in his nurturing of young Jack Carty at out-half where, though far from the finished article in terms of exerting a game-controlling influence, the Roscommon lad has thrived with the confidence bestowed on him and through consistency of selection.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.