Connacht must develop Plan B as rivals are catching on

Inside Track with John McIntyre

THERE was more than a few Connacht supporters justifiably hot under the collar when the 34-man Irish squad was unveiled for the November Internationals last week. Just three players from the West – Ultan Dillane, Kieran Marmion and Finlay Bealham – were included, but a whopping 16 Leinster players made the cut, leading to accusations of bias against Irish coach Joe Schmidt in favour of the province he had once led.

It was just a few months ago that Connacht had dismantled Leinster in an epic Pro 12 final at Murrayfield and though Pat Lam’s charges had made a rusty start to the new campaign – largely the legacy of a problematic pre-season – they had steadied the ship with a run of four victories, including a rare success over Ulster and a titanic triumph over Toulouse in the European Champions Cup.

Against that background, Connacht’s measly representation on the Irish squad was difficult to justify, especially the omission of in-form full back Tiernan O’Halloran. As luck would have it, however, John Muldoon and his team-mates had an ideal opportunity to prove a point when taking on an admittedly seriously weakened Leinster in the Pro12 at the RDS last Saturday night.

Leo Cullen had made ten changes to the Leinster team which lined out against Montpellier the previous weekend and though their pack contained some heft with the inclusions of Cian Healy and Sean O’Brien, two players desperately striving to regain international sharpness after a couple of injury-hit seasons, and a formidable front row, their youthful backline was callow and inexperienced. On paper, they were vulnerable even though they had never lost to Connacht at the RDS.

Though their front five was badly hit by injuries, Connacht otherwise fielded all their front-liners bar Bundee Aki and Matt Healy. The omens were good and when they deservedly established an early 6-nil lead thanks to two Craig Ronaldson penalties, the prospects of a fifth victory on the trot were obvious. But Leinster had learned from their Pro12 final defeat. This time there was no standing back when Connacht tried to run the ball and they were far more aggressive at the breakdown.

Connacht didn’t help themselves with too many turnovers and missed tackles, while the head injury to Ronaldson was a blow even if Aki was introduced. They went 66 minutes without scoring and failed to take advantage when Leinster’s version of Sean O’Brien was yellow-carded in the opening-half. Connacht were true to their values in sticking to their admired off-loading game, but they needed to be far more pragmatic inside their own 22 as Leinster just smothered them time after time.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.