Connacht get there Ð at last!

Date Published: {J}

Connacht 26

Edinburgh 13

Rob Murphy

OPTIMISM surrounds the Sportsground these days. Connacht haven’t exactly gone on some sort of headline grabbing run since the Harlequins Heineken Cup win in January, but they haven’t stood still either. Points are being garnered from game to game, improvements are measurable and hope springs eternal.

The next few months are largely about 2012/13 and whether Eric Elwood in conjunction with the PGB (Professional Games Board) can build a squad that can be considerably more competitive in next season’s Rabo Direct Pro 12. They undoubtedly have observed the transformation in Glasgow from basement dwellers to play off chasers and said: ‘why not us?’

The signing of kiwi prop Nathan White to a three year contract last week was a clear statement of intent – other big names are also being linked to the province – but the core will remain the same and their form in the remaining six games of this season will be a hugely important gauge, so watching them secure a solid if not spectacular victory on Friday was encouraging for all and sundry.

Michael Bradley’s Edinburgh side have been a revelation in Europe but a fairly mediocre force in this competition. They have now slipped back to second bottom after this defeat. Connacht were well aware that this was one of those must-win games that have proved a stumbling block time and again, but this time they delivered off the back of a strong first-half display.

When Mike McCarthy scampered over after a brilliant inside pass from John Muldoon in injury time to seal the win, a sigh of relief was no doubt the first reaction from management. The four month run without a Rabo Direct Pro 12 win was over and for the first time in a long while, Connacht could look up rather than down.

The game itself from a Connacht viewpoint was about managing momentum and at one point in the second half wrestling it back from a suddenly rampaging Edinburgh side. The first quarter had seen the Scots monopolise possession and territory, but offer little of substance. A disciplined home defence was helping.

An Italian referee who certainly didn’t take a shine to the men in red also aided Connacht as by full time the penalty count was 14-6 against Edinburgh, the irony of being on the wrong end of such refereeing at the Sportsground must not have been lost on Michael Bradley, returning to his old stomping ground for the first time. That said, he was gracious in defeat.

The visitors were missing eight with Scotland and it showed. They don’t have the depth that their rivals from Glasgow possess and their season is all about one game, Toulouse on the second weekend in April. They were 3-0 down here on 20th minute when Niall O’Connor slotted from long range to break the deadlock.

Despite the scarcity of scores in the early action, the game was compelling and exciting. Connacht were first to notch a try, the ever improving Fetu Vainikolo got it. He’s rarely used in the red zone backline attacks but that might change after he took a brilliant inside line and was found with a well judged pass from O’Connor. The Derry born out half kicked the conversion for a 10-0 half time lead.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.