Connacht in revenge mood

Date Published: 09-Jan-2009

CONNACHT return to action at the Sportsground tonight when they host the Scarlets (6.30PM), hoping to replicate the spirit that they showed over a festive season in which they beat Munster and gave Leinster quite a scare.

Like their supporters, Connacht have never had a problem in rising to the challenges provided in glamour European or inter-provincial games. But a home tie against the Scarlets, perhaps a less glamorous Magners League assignment, on a cold January night is exactly the kind of game they need to win if significant progress is to be made this season.

There was magic in the Sportsground air when Connacht beat Munster for the first time in 22 years on the Sunday after Christmas and, while the defeat at the RDS has left the players with a sense of injustice, the same kind of intensity needs to be replicated on the terraces and the pitch if the Welsh visitors – featuring a host of internationals – are to be humbled tonight.

There should be no lack of…