Connacht run riot as Warriors take league pounding

Date Published: {J}

Connacht 37

Glasgow 8

Rob Murphy at

the sportsground

There is no period in the Magners League season less glamorous or more anonymous than February. Six Nations is all the rage, club action is booming and the Heineken Cup is on a well-earned break after a frantic Winter.

It is here, in this dark crevasse of the season, that the Magners League must plough on. Games get lost in the back pages, crowds dwindle but four points are still four points, a bonus point is still a bonus and make no mistake, the teams that are sitting on a perch in late May, have usually delivered in the Spring.

For a refreshing change, Connacht are making hay just when it really matters. The constant Winter mutterings of “we’re not far off” and “give it time” are starting to seem justified. It’s not that we doubted they would, but this Connacht season really is starting to feel like one of those jigsaws that only begins to make some visual sense when most of the hard work has been done.

Friday’s victory was a fourth on the bounce – a run that started with a memorable and truly brilliant victory in Bayonne – it was the second home win of the season with a four try bonus point and the ninth Magners League point in six days. It has jolted Connacht into 10th place, just three points off seventh. The Dragons, Treviso and Edinburgh are sitting just in front. All are bright spots on the radar.

There is work to be done but the manner of Friday’s performance was hugely encouraging. The tries were at times mesmerising, this added to a strong and focused work ethic and a ruthless late defensive stand – when the Warriors were denied a chance even to save some pride – really does underline a pertinent point. Connacht are a very different animal these days.

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