The floodgates open but no sinking feeling for Connacht

Newport Dragons 25

Connacht 30

JOHN Muldoon led his side to the dressing room in Rodney Parade on Sunday evening, he and every last player with him were sodden from head to toe but hardly even noticing.

The five point win came at the end of a battle on a aqua playing surface, which included three tries apiece, and a colossal effort from the 14 man Dragons team being matched, and slightly surpassed, by a resilient and defiant display from the visitors.

The victory marked an eighth Pro12 win on the season to equal their 2003/04 record, with seven games still to play. Pat Lam’s side are just two points shy of a new points record as well, with Treviso in town on Sunday shorn of their Italian internationals and facing a technically efficient, clued in home side that are not short on self belief right now.

From 10am on Sunday the east Wales town of Newport was enveloped with monsoon like rain and the conditions seemed set to play a pivotal role in the afternoon contest, but the game’s defining element actually stemmed from one moment of madness in the 14th minute where home captain Rynard Landman hit Jack Carty late in the tackle, leading with the elbow and making contact.

The red card came after a video review and set the tone for the remainder of the game. Connacht had dominated the early exchanges with Craig Ronaldson’s try underlining their intent, a thundering line off a Jack Carty pass proved key for the Naas man to score and helped his side into an early lead. It was 10-3 when Landman saw red and the lead stretched out to 17-3 before the balance shifted towards the home side.

From there to the end, this was a topsy turvy contest, with Connacht always holding the edge. A 17-11 half time lead stretched out to 23-11 before a converted try from the home side set up a tense finish.

However when Mick Kearney chased down a blocked clearance to score try number three, the game was up for the home side who nabbed a late consolation score with the last play.

We’ve known this for a while, but we haven’t really fully grasped it until this season. Getting into the top half of the Pro12 and staying there with a squad and budget like Connacht work off is extremely hard work and we are only now really getting a feel for this fact. You had to get to this stage to experience.

This was a third away win of the season in the Pro12, a fifth in all competitions and each one has been chiseled out with bare hands. Every minute, every tackle and every scrum has been a merciless contest. Yellow cards, sumptuous passes, clever footwork, lucky bounces, grubber kicks and tap tackles have added up. It has been a hard slog and this game was the epitome of such a slog.

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