Connacht left with mountain to climb as English woes continue

Inside Track with John McIntyre

ANDY Friend had pulled no punches ahead of Connacht’s weekend trip to the heart of the Cotswolds. Facing into the province’s third pool outing of the European Champions Cup, the team’s Head Coach was settling for nothing else other than a win at a venue which has brought no joy to the Westerners in the past.

Friend was in no mood to sugar coat the consequences of Connacht failing to achieve a result at the Kingsholm Stadium on Sunday. In blunt terms, he warned that defeat would see the squad “kiss goodbye” to their hopes of making the Champions Cup quarter-finals. Against that background, the players were acutely aware of what was on the line ahead of their latest cross-channel venture.

Unfortunately, Connacht’s 26-17 defeat by Gloucester – they scored a try with the last play of the game to give the final scoreline a somewhat better look – has continued the province’s awful record in England where they are now gone nearly ten seasons without a win. It’s a grim statistic by any standards.

Having put the gun to the players’ heads ahead of the Gloucester clash, Friend’s gamble didn’t pay off. He obviously felt that there was a big performance in them and the vibes must have been good on the training ground. Apart from the collapse against Leinster, Connacht’s form had been solid and they were heading cross-channel on the front foot.

Furthermore, Gloucester had lost their last five matches; were only carrying a pair of European bonus points into the fixture; and must have also been low on confidence, Clearly, it was a big chance for Connacht to give their qualification hopes a major boost. Instead, they came home with nothing, leaving their Champions Cup ambitions hanging by the proverbial thread.

Though Connacht had got off to a poor start when conceding an early try to full-back Tom Marshall, they recovered to take a 10-7 lead by the break, thanks to a well-taken five-pointer by Jordan Porch and a penalty from Jack Carty. But during that first half, they lost the influential Colby Fainga’a to injury and would also have to face the elements on the resumption.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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