Connacht see red after nightmare closing period

Date Published: 13-Jan-2009

THIS was a heartbreaking and horrible defeat that will stick deep in the gut for many days to come. It should have been a ground-breaking victory, a result that would have acted as a frame highlighting Connacht’s recent revival and a catalyst to some progress up the Magners League table.

Connacht did everything right at a dry and windy Sportsground for the first hour at least. They shook off some early lethargy, dug their heels in after the concession of an early penalty and slowly but surely began to stamp their authority on the contest with a brilliant brand of open, adventurous, heads up rugby.

It was as if Conancht had come face to face with a wall before Christmas with the victory over Munster and the battling display against Leinster representing the tunnelling under and now, free from those shackles of underachievement, they had abandoned the safety first policy and were running free in their new surroundings.

This time last year they beat the Scarlets but that was through a more traditional dogged game plan. This would have meant that bit more as it was a follow on from their inter-pro form and it was backed up by a brand of open aggressive play. They were beating the Welshmen at their own game and that would have really hurt the visitors and made others sit up and take note.

The first five minutes were eerily familiar as Connacht looked a little under motivated and lacked some focus but they hung tough, conceding just three points, and the spark for change came on seven minutes from Colm Rigney who broke from the base of a scrum which Connacht had won against the head deep in their own territory and made 30 metres lifting the siege and energising the atmosphere.

The crowd was 2,063 strong, not bad for half six on a Friday against a Welsh province. The first time in three years that a Magners League game outside of the inter-pros has broken the two thousand threshold. The good will and positive vibes from recent weeks had clearly brought out the masses and boy did it add to the atmosphere.

Connacht’s best rugby came…