Connacht show some resilience in avoiding Scottish humiliation

Glasgow Warriors 35

Connacht 22

The closer to the end of the season we get, the more confusing the picture becomes. Connacht were somewhere on a scale between spectacularly bad and reasonably resilient on Friday night. They were off key for long periods of the first half, missing tackles and struggling to get out of their own half, yet by the end of the game, somehow, they were within range of securing two bonus points.

Scotstoun Stadium is a quirky and atmospheric venue on the west side of Glasgow city, not more than a few miles from Ibrox and Firhill the respective homes of Rangers and Partick Thistle football clubs. Glasgow is clearly a football city, but slowly over the years, the Scottish rugby union have managed to carve out a corner for the oval ball game to the point where the 2015 title winners are now perennial contenders in this competition.

Kieran Keane’s old boss Dave Rennie is the head coach of the Warriors. The duo were one and two at the Waikato based Chiefs for many years and no doubt shared a drink and a chat on Friday. Rennie has done a good job since taking over from Gregor Townsend and Dan McFarland at the Warriors last summer, his settling in period and the overall transition seems to have been well managed.

As for Keane, well life has been a little more complicated at Connacht since he joined last summer. The decline from the previous year has continued in terms of results to the point where their final two games of the season have little more than pride at stake.

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