Connacht rock rugby world with stunning win over Toulouse

It’s Connacht’s best yet. Pat Lam’s men travelled to the home of the four-times European Cup winners as rank outsiders, no-hopers, on the back of a hiding at the hands of Edinburgh away, in which they conceded three tries in the last eight minutes of that league tie. They then played out of their skins against the French aristocrats, Toulouse, to pull off a shock win that rocked the rugby World.

It finished 16-14 at Stade Ernest Wallon but it’s not exaggeration to say that Connacht should have won by more – the visitors had a break-away try under the posts disallowed for a dubious knock-on and out-half Dan Parks, who bagged a conversion, two penalties and a drop-goal in all, also missed a couple of kicks to augment their advantage.

Of course, Connacht rode their luck a bit, too.

How different would the complexion have been had Toulouse scored a try in the second minute when the width of the skin on Kieran Marmion’s fingertips was the difference between being level, or being 7-0 down, through a vital intercept?

But it was that sort of dogged defensive display in which Connacht fought like their lives depended on it that characterised this historic victory. How Connacht managed to keep their line intact and survived that early onslaught defied gravity as they continuously repelled the massive bulldozers who tried to bash their way through. Connacht grew in belief with every hit they made. 

Toulouse arrogance, perhaps, also fed into the home team’s lazy approach to the game . . . declining to take early penalty opportunities to go for the posts smacked of an insulting, dismissive attitude towards the visitors. They were made pay for their nonchalance, however.

True, Toulouse took the lead on the stroke of half-time when Jean-Pascal Barraque skipped a few tame attempts at tackles and dived in under the posts to leave it 7-6 at the break. But it was Connacht, again, who put it up to Toulouse after the interval as Parks landed a penalty following a move that could have reaper further rewards when there was an overlap out wide. Minutes later the 200 or so away supporters were in ecstasy as Marmion burrowed through for a try following a peach of a back-flip pass from Robbie Henshaw in the lead-up.

Parks held his nerve to add the extras and suddenly it was 16-7. How Connacht held out with an heroic defensive effort in the remaining 32 minutes will go down in the annals as one of the all-time great achievements of Irish rugby.

Toulouse visit the Sportsground in the reverse fixture this coming Saturday at 6pm.