Depleted Connacht clip the wings of Falcons

Connacht 25

Newcastle 10

ALL things considered, this Friday night win in Galway was another milestone result for Connacht. The Pro12 is once again priority number one this season and these Challenge Cup fixtures could prove to be a distraction if they are not managed carefully, but so far they have been negotiated with precision by an ever changing young panel and that is another reason to be positive.

Leaving aside the fact that it was a home win against an English Premiership side, confirming Connacht’s place at the top of the pool, with Brive slipping up away to Enisei in Sochi, this was a milestone result because of the adversity they faced. Eleven changes from the previous week, just 23 fit players available and a very young backline meant expectations weren’t as high as normal.

Throw into the mix that Connacht’s bubble had burst in terms of their winning streak, after a run of eight straight victories, as in the past the recent loss in Cardiff would have led to a slide in form and confidence. Not here, not this time. They bounced back with a clean win, thanks to six Jack Carty penalties and a late deftly taken try from a fit-again Danie Poolman.

It wasn’t a stroll in the park by any means. When Newcastle scored off a lineout, catch and maul that the home side seemed powerless to stop, there was 15 minutes left on the clock and a two point gap on the scoreboard with Connacht ahead 12-10. Carty’s fifth penalty stretched the advantage to five, but there was more drama to follow as the tide continued to turn.

Young French referee Thomas Chabaras sin binned Rory Parata with 12 minutes remaining, apparently for persistent offside and Newcastle’s replacement out half Simon Catterick stood over a simple kick in the 22 to narrow the gap to just two points again. His miss stunned the Sportsground and his team-mates.

For the remaining nine minutes of the sin bin period, Connacht completely dominated, scoring ten points including another kick from Carty, who notched seven kicks from eight on a fine afternoon’s play, and Poolman’s try from a little grubber ‘kick and chase’ eight metres out from the line. The South African was only making his fifth appearance in an injury-hit season and that was his fourth try.

The half time margin had been 9-3. This was a Newcastle side much changed from their Premiership line up. They are struggling without a win in England’s top flight and have been forced to use this competition to blood some academy stars. They came to win however, experience heads like Scott Lawson at hooker, Mouritz Botha in the second row and Alistair Hogg at eight kept them on track and very much in the game.

Full match report in this week’s Connacht Tribune