Connacht pull off a stunning comeback against the odds

Connacht 27

Gloucester 24

Rob Murphy at the Sportsground

YOU would almost forgive them for their lack of faith. Hundreds of unfortunate supporters had strolled out of the Sportsground and onto College Road with four minutes still to play in Saturday’s pivotal Champions Cup encounter, having watched their beloved Connacht slowly unravel over the course of an error strewn second half. All seemed well and truly lost.

In their defence, there was little hope or no hope. Connacht really did look dead and buried in both the game and the competition. Gloucester were 11 points clear, having blitzed the home side with three tries in 20 devastating minutes either side of the hour mark and they were on the verge of a second successive bonus point win over their Irish rivals.

What happened next, however, will live long in the memory of all those who were still in the ground. It was born from a sense of belief that was instilled in this group of players a long time ago, a sense of self assuredness, comfort in home surrounds and let’s be honest, a sense of the almost admirable arrogance that has kept this team punching above its weight for years.

Gone are the days where Connacht are almost apologetic about their place on the main stage. They are here on their own merit, they might not have the international caps or the budgets and – this is the slightly controversial part of this point – they might not even have as much super star talent as any of the sides in their pool, but they bloody well have convinced themselves that they do, and no one is going to dissuade them of that.

This game had it all, bone crunching tackles, hair raising moments of sublime skill, seven tries, turnovers, line breaks and momentum swings from the get go. Connacht started with the wind at their backs, Gloucester had won the toss and chosen to play against the elements. It had seemingly paid off as by half time they only trailed 10-7 despite having been stuck in their own half for almost 70% of those opening 40 minutes.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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