Sports
Connacht Rugby face Bayonne
An away trip to Basque Country this weekend is an unwelcome distraction for Connacht Rugby this weekend.
Connacht Rugby’s primary focus must be on winning at least one of the three inter-provincials in the Pro 12 league over Christmas and New Year, rather than this test, even if it is European competition.
The Connacht Rugby management and players obviously insist they travel to France with the intention of completing back-to-back victories over Bayonne – what professional outfit sets out to lose?
But the province’s main protagonists should be kept in reserve for the mouth-watering trip to Dublin, where the westerners face Leinster in the RDS next Friday, December 19.
Then it’s another away trip to Ulster (Dec 26), a place where Connacht Rugby hasn’t won in over 50 years; and home to Munster (Jan 1). An away win in Bayonne this Saturday will count for little if Connacht Rugby can’t avoid a whitewash against the other three Irish provinces, which would precipitate a slide down the league table. Time to get the priorities right.
Lock Mick Kearney suffered an ankle sprain early-on in Connacht’s five-try bonus win over Bayonne at the Sportsground at the weekend, and head coach Pat Lam will not want to risk any other front-line starters at Stade Jean Dauger this Saturday (kick-off, 8.45pm local time, 7.45pm in Ireland).
Despite indicating he would ring the changes for last Saturday, Lam fielded as strong a team as was available and got his just desserts: a seventh win on the trot at College Road this season, copper-fastening the Sportsground as a fortress.
It would be unconscionable not to rest front-liners this weekend, with just a six-day turnaround, as well as travel from France and to Dublin to take into account for the next two fixtures.
As well as Kearney, Andrew Browne (knee) and scrum-half Ian Porter (foot) are also sidelined, and Lam could be forced to dip into his reserves of Connacht Rugby Academy and Eagles players.
A much-changed starting 15 will be announced at noon today.
A win on the road will set-up a European Challenge Cup Pool Two decider with Exeter Chiefs in January at the Sportsground.
But it’s not the end of the world if they lose either as qualification would still be as possibility even if they come away with nothing.
The priority must be on the performance, and, even allowing for the margin of victory, 42-19, there is ample scope for improvement from last week for the Connacht players, who switched off too often against Bayonne.
Lam admitted there were “too many troughs” in Connacht’s performance and he called for his charges to be more clinical, against Bayonne who will be a different beast at home.
“We will have to be ruthless or teams like Bayonne are capable of punishing you,” he said.
“We are going there to win. We truly believe we have a game plan and a team who can go there and win this game. The key is making sure we do our preparation as a team and as individuals.
“We’ve also got to be careful and use our squad ahead of what is a crucial period of games. We have a squad of around 40 players, including some Academy guys, and they’ve all been training around our structures and systems week in week out since the preseason.
“So we trust our squad and will trust the team we pick to go out there and play as a team in the Connacht Rugby jersey. No doubt Bayonne will make changes too. We know it will be a different story over there.”
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
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The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
GALWAY United need to guard against any kind of complacency when they make the short hop down the M18 this Friday to take on Treaty United at the Markets Field (7.45pm).
The game is a meeting of the two form teams in the division, and as in previous meetings between the sides, will have an additional edge given the number of former United players in the home side’s ranks, and the pair of Limerick lads playing for United.
There might have been just the eight meetings between the sides since Treaty became the latest iteration to represent Limerick in the League of Ireland in 2021, and while United have yet to lose to the men in the candy-cane strips, there has never been more than a goal in four of their eight wins.
The most recent of those was back in February, when Rob Slevin scored the only goal of the game in Eamonn Deacy Park after a tough battle against a side who made a slow start to the season, before finally finding their groove in the past month.
Having taken just three points from their first six games before finally getting a win against Longford Town, they reverted to type with just one point from their next three games, but are now on a run of four wins on the spin, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one.
Their most recent win was a 3-0 victory away to Longford Town last Saturday, and they could have won by double that against the only side to have beaten United this season. That in itself is a warning.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Soccer Wrap with Mike Rafferty
While the Salthill Devon men’s team might have lost their grip on the Connacht Junior Cup that they held for two seasons, the club’s women’s side have picked up the mantle and on Sunday last in Headford were crowned provincial champions with a 4-3 win over Manulla.
Following midweek wins for Maree/Oranmore and Knocknacarra, the stage is now almost set for the semi-finals of the Michael Byrne Cup with Salthill Devon meeting St Bernard’s on Sunday in an outstanding quarter-final, with the winners advancing to a semi-final against Maree/Oranmore, while Colga will face Knocknacarra in the other last four contest.
Just one league issue remains to be decided, with the Championship runners-up position up for grabs, as Dynamo Blues have to win their two remaining games in order to overtake Colemanstown United who have finished their programme.
WOMEN’S CONNACHT CUP FINAL
Salthill Devon 4
Manulla 3
Ellerose O’Flaherty scored twice as Salthill Devon were crowned provincial champions with a win over a Mayo side who were losing in the final for the second year in succession.
Backboned by a number of players who previously had League of Ireland experience with Galway WFC, Devon suffered an early set back when Jess Nolan put Manulla ahead, before O’Flaherty levelled matters with a cracking finish on 20 minutes, which was quickly followed by a long-range free-kick from Aoife Walsh.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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