Sports
Magnificent Connacht leave French men out on their feet
Connacht 23
Toulouse 21
THE rusty form of September is in the rear view mirror and Connacht are clicking through the gears and powering forward. In a pulsating Saturday evening clash at a heaving and sold-out Sportsground, the Westerners came from ten points down in the second half to win a game that might have done more to redefine their status in European rugby than last May’s Pro12 triumph.
The third consecutive home win in as many weeks was a seismic one for sure but ironically, in hindsight, probably not the most significant of the three. Toulouse are a big powerful side with none of the finesse that we have come to admire over the last three decades of European competition whereas the Ulster side that came here last week offered a lot more of an all round game and were simply harder to beat. Yet this certainly was more significant.
Significant because here was the epitome of what is going wrong with Top 14 rugby. Bish, bash bosh is all we see from most French and English clubs these days. Their national teams aren’t much better and all the while the New Zealanders are pulling further and further away with a new brand of the game focused more and more on the skills. While Europe insists on picking big men and running hard straight lines, all of New Zealand laugh.
There have to be some limits in what Connacht can achieve as they shun the Northern Hemisphere trends and go the route of a high tempo attacking brand of rugby that sees all risks with ball in hand as opportunities to unearth space and unlock defences. Almost every side Connacht meet, knows what they are going to get, the days of underestimating Pat Lam’s men are done but that doesn’t seem to matter. That’s what is mesmerising.
If there is a bigger scrum in the Champions Cup than Toulouse this season, it will be a sight to see. The game was billed as big men versus fast runners and it lived up to it in every way. Yet by the end, the big men were out on their feet after failing to contain the electric Connacht backline and being out foxed by the home pack. It was a sight for sore eyes for sure.
You don’t want running rugby to always beat a forward orientated game. Rugby is about balance and there’s nothing wrong with going for power and set piece dominance as a route to victory. However, if that’s your only trick in the bag, then there is everything wrong with that approach and the biggest, most powerful side in European rugby lost to a team at the weekend with a fraction of their budget and nothing like their history. They got schooled in fact.
When Toulouse centre Florian Fritz kicked their third penalty on 13 minutes to add to two scores from Sebastien Bezy the signs weren’t good for Connacht. They had barely touched the ball, the penalties had all come from scrums and the prospect of any reprieve in that area seemed non existent. Yet besides that, Toulouse hadn’t offered any other attacking threat and were coughing up lineouts for fun.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GALWAY United need to guard against any kind of complacency when they make the short hop down the M18 this Friday to take on Treaty United at the Markets Field (7.45pm).
The game is a meeting of the two form teams in the division, and as in previous meetings between the sides, will have an additional edge given the number of former United players in the home side’s ranks, and the pair of Limerick lads playing for United.
There might have been just the eight meetings between the sides since Treaty became the latest iteration to represent Limerick in the League of Ireland in 2021, and while United have yet to lose to the men in the candy-cane strips, there has never been more than a goal in four of their eight wins.
The most recent of those was back in February, when Rob Slevin scored the only goal of the game in Eamonn Deacy Park after a tough battle against a side who made a slow start to the season, before finally finding their groove in the past month.
Having taken just three points from their first six games before finally getting a win against Longford Town, they reverted to type with just one point from their next three games, but are now on a run of four wins on the spin, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one.
Their most recent win was a 3-0 victory away to Longford Town last Saturday, and they could have won by double that against the only side to have beaten United this season. That in itself is a warning.
For more, read this week’s Galway City 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.
Soccer Wrap with Mike Rafferty
While the Salthill Devon men’s team might have lost their grip on the Connacht Junior Cup that they held for two seasons, the club’s women’s side have picked up the mantle and on Sunday last in Headford were crowned provincial champions with a 4-3 win over Manulla.
Following midweek wins for Maree/Oranmore and Knocknacarra, the stage is now almost set for the semi-finals of the Michael Byrne Cup with Salthill Devon meeting St Bernard’s on Sunday in an outstanding quarter-final, with the winners advancing to a semi-final against Maree/Oranmore, while Colga will face Knocknacarra in the other last four contest.
Just one league issue remains to be decided, with the Championship runners-up position up for grabs, as Dynamo Blues have to win their two remaining games in order to overtake Colemanstown United who have finished their programme.
WOMEN’S CONNACHT CUP FINAL
Salthill Devon 4
Manulla 3
Ellerose O’Flaherty scored twice as Salthill Devon were crowned provincial champions with a win over a Mayo side who were losing in the final for the second year in succession.
Backboned by a number of players who previously had League of Ireland experience with Galway WFC, Devon suffered an early set back when Jess Nolan put Manulla ahead, before O’Flaherty levelled matters with a cracking finish on 20 minutes, which was quickly followed by a long-range free-kick from Aoife Walsh.
For more, read this week’s Galway City 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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