Inside Track
Connacht’s best yet leaves the Red Army punch drunk
Inside Track with John McIntyre
Most of Connacht’s best days in the professional era have been crammed into a remarkable current season, but what unfolded at the Sportsground last Saturday night surely tops the lot. By the end of another absorbing encounter, one team was understandably leaping about with joy, the other was out on its feet.
In fact, Munster were punch drunk at the finish of a critical Irish derby which swung violently against them on the approach to half time. They lost two of their pack to yellow cards and Connacht smelt blood. The home team went from 14-8 behind to six points in front. It was a masterclass in ruthlessness more associated with the men in red in their hey-day.
The manner in which the second half unfolded just confirmed Connacht’s staggering rise this season as tries from Niyi Adeolokun, his second of the match, and Finlay Bealham, from close range, helped to secure a bonus point victory and, in the process, complete the Inter-pro double over Munster for the first time ever. All-told, it was an heroic response to the previous weekend’s crushing Challenge Cup exit to Grenoble.
That was the context in the build up to the clash with Munster. Connacht were coming off the back of agonisingly losing a thriller to the French Top 14 outfit and they hadn’t long to repair the physical and mental scars from such a near miss. In contrast, Anthony Foley’s charges would be arriving at the College Road venue fresh from having a weekend off, but also with a score to settle after losing to the Westerners on home soil for the first time in nearly 30 years earlier in the campaign.
For much of the opening quarter, wind-assisted Munster were in the driving seat. They had more possession and territory, with their superiority reflected in tries from Simon Zebo and Mike Sherry. Connacht were looking a little flat but even before the opposition sin-binnings, it was clear they were in no mood to roll over. The brilliant Bundee Aki, who has become something of a local cult hero, had almost put Kieran Marmion through before being involved, along with Bealham, in sending Adeolokun clear in the 36th minute.
With Munster then down to 13 men, Connacht piled on the pressure and it was no surprise they were awarded a penalty try in the final play of the half. The Munster players looked shell-shocked and through they initially battled manfully on the resumption, Pat Lam’s charges gradually regained control in powering to an emphatic 35-14 victory which all but guarantees a place in the Pro12 semi-finals.
Not alone could Munster not cope with Connacht’s overall aggression and physicality – highlighted by the rampaging second row Ultan Dillane – but their skills set against their ambitious hosts were also made to look ordinary. Once more, John Muldoon, who is in the form of his life, and company remained true to their superbly honed off-loading and attacking values. Connacht are just thrilling to watch at present and the squad is rightly imbued with great confidence.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
SOMETHING very odd happened to Tyrone in the Ulster championship in early April. On their home turf of Healy Park, they were doing nearly everything expected of them when leading Monaghan by five points at half-time. You couldn’t say for definite that the match was done and dusted, but the 2021 All-Ireland champions were in pole position.
You would have expected them to drive on against an honest if limited Monaghan outfit. Instead, Tyrone didn’t score for the opening 16 minutes of the second-half and in an enthralling finale, were left stunned by defender Ryan’s Toole’s stoppage-time goal snatching the honours for the Farney men on a 2-17 to 1-18 scoreline.
A couple of weeks later, Monaghan themselves had exited the Ulster title race when Derry comfortably got the better of them (1-21 to 2-10), leaving us more puzzled than ever by Tyrone’s dramatic decline since overcoming Mayo to claim Sam barely 20 months previously. Last year, they crashed out of Ulster by 11 points to Derry and subsequently came up six short against Armagh in the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Against that background, their recent loss to Monaghan shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did. Tyrone may have made a shambolic defence of the All-Ireland title, but there is still a lot of quality in their ranks. They have an adventurous ‘keeper in Niall Morgan, while the long-serving Peter Harte, Darragh Canavan, Darren McCurry, Cathal McShane, Conor Meyler, Mattie Donnelly, and Conn Kilpatrick are all top-class performers when in the mood.
There’s hardly been a word about them for the past six weeks. Tyrone are lying low, desperately trying to rediscover the verve and cohesion which took them all the way in 2021. Their pride is on the line. It makes them dangerous opponents for Galway in the opening round of All-Ireland group matches at Pearse Stadium on Saturday.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Inside Track with John McIntyre
GALWAY footballers won’t get much credit for their easy victory over Sligo in Sunday’s Connacht Final in Castlebar, but when a team achieves something that hasn’t been done for 20 years, perhaps we should be a little more appreciative of the Tribesmen retaining the JJ Nestor Cup for the first time in two decades.
To be honest, if Galway were to live up to their standing as serious All-Ireland contenders, they needed to be doing a number on Sligo. In this year’s National League, the counties were three divisions apart and though Tony McEntee’s team achieved promotion and were on a nine-match unbeaten run, a serious rise in class faced them at MacHale Park.
Granted, Sligo made a bright start with three points in the opening five minutes from Pat Spillane, Sean Carrabine and the accurate Darragh Cummins, but they would only manage two more by the break despite having the wind behind them. Though wing back Luke Towey was catching the eye with his runs up-field, Galway rarely looked under pressure.
Sligo were bravely committing numbers to the middle third, which meant they were a little light in numbers around their own posts. They couldn’t afford to lose possession coming out of their own half, but that’s what happened in the build up to Galway’s second goal. Damien Comer overturned Cian Lally and from his counter-attack, Matthew Tierney expertly finished to the net at the near post.
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.
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.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
IS the Leinster hurling championship something of a sham compared to its Munster counterpart? Everybody knows who will end up in the provincial final in the east, but nobody knows the two teams who will feature in the ultimate battle for supremacy down south.
All-Ireland champions Limerick aren’t guaranteed to even make it out of the province, never mind reach the Munster final, after their narrow loss to Clare in Saturday evening’s epic at the Gaelic Grounds. Everything is still on the line for the five counties involved, although Waterford are again under serious pressure after losing their opening two matches.
In Leinster, there is little of that drama. Galway and Kilkenny are miles ahead of the rest; the only thing at stake is whether Dublin or Wexford – they meet in Croke Park on Saturday – will be the third team to emerge for the All-Ireland series. It’s a game which is hard to call. Wexford are going backwards while Dublin look callow as Micheál Donoghue is trying to build the nucleus of a new team.
Though Antrim are improving – they held the Dubs to a draw and only lost to Wexford by four points – the men from the Glens would be out of their depth in Munster; while Westmeath are proving cannon-fodder for everyone else. Since Galway headed east in 2009, they have clashed with Kilkenny in seven Leinster finals and another showdown is inevitable next month.
In contrast, every match in Munster is virtually do-or die. When Clare rolled into Limerick last Saturday, they knew another defeat after losing to Tipperary in the opening round would leave them on the precipice of exiting the championship. There’s a real dog-eat-dog appeal about all the games. In Leinster, there are two big hounds, and the rest are chihuahuas.
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.
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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