Sportsground to be heaving for historic night

Date Published: {J}

IT’S going to be the biggest single sporting event in Galway this year as Heineken Cup rugby finally comes to the city. The Sportsground will be heaving with excitement and anticipation on Saturday night when Connacht get to play their first home match in Europe’s elite club competition.

Even the greyhounds which have been such an integral part of the sporting history of the Sportsground will hardly mind staying in their kennels this weekend as Sky Sports, a sell-out crowd of near 9,000, and the aristocrats of French rugby descend on Galway for what is a landmark occasion for sport in the West.

And the appetite for the fixture has been whetted by Connacht’s heroically defiant debut effort in the competition when they pushed Harlequins all the way at The Stoop last Saturday, only to suffer the abject disappointment of not even collecting a bonus point for repeatedly laying their bodies on the line against the English Premiership leaders.

There had been widespread fears that Eric Elwood’s squad would be out of their depth in the Heineken Cup, but their performance against Harlequins suggests that Connacht have the capacity to be competitive in all their group fixtures. As last Saturday’s match entered the home straight, there was only two points between the teams and the hosts were enduring the fright of their lives.

Unfortunately, two late penalties from the near-flawless Nick Evans, who landed seven of his eight kicking attempts, put paid to Connacht’s sterling resistance, but Gavin Duffy and his team-mates have earned a new respect for the extraordinary commitment and quality of their display. If anything, Connacht were nearly too wired up – conceding 11 penalties to five – but how can you fault a group of men who literally drove themselves to the point of exhaustion?

Lessons, however, must be learned, and quickly, especially around the breakdown if Connacht are to avoid the needless concession of penalties. Discipline is what it’s all about, but admittedly that may be easier said than done against Toulouse on Saturday night when the team will be urged on by a capacity and passionate crowd. Controlled aggression simply must be the home side’s mantra.

In the wake of their close shave against Connacht last weekend, Harlequins coach Conor O’Shea conceded that they hadn’t played well but, to be honest, they weren’t allowed to. Leading by 19-10 at half-time, they probably thought the hard work was done, but with Mike McCarthy and John Muldoon towering figures in the opposition pack, Harlequins were unable to put the match to bed. In fact, when only two ahead, they were in danger of losing it.

Connacht, who outscored their hosts by two tries to one, were undoubtedly inspired by the historic nature of the occasion. In the 14th minute, they got the first of those and what a cracker it was too.

Muldoon was heavily involved before young Eoin Griffin made the incision for left wing Tiernan O’Halloran to finish off in style. When Miah Nikora added the extras, the rank outsiders had surged into a 10-6 lead. Harlequins were clearly rattled, but they regained the initiative thanks to a try in the corner from scrum-half Karl Dixon with Evans also tacking on his fourth penalty before the break.

It would have been understandable if Connacht were a little deflated during half-time. They hardly deserved to be adrift nine points adrift, but they were to perform with even more ferocity on the resumption. In the 57th minute, they broke through for the team’s second try with Brian Tuohy doing the spadework for Duffy to beat the Harlequins cover. With replacement out-half Niall O’Connor converting, suddenly there was only two points between the teams.

The Connacht players continued to empty the locker, typified by the manner in which McCarthy somehow denied winger Sam Smith from getting the first touch as the ball bobbled over the try line in the final quarter, and they were on the brink of a huge upset only for Harlequins to lift the siege with those late Evans penalties. The big question now is can Connacht keep this level of intensity up?

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.