YOU MIGHT HAVE thought that Bernard Jackman would take satisfaction from beating one of the Irish provinces, showcasing how he has brought Grenoble forward, but the former Ireland hooker appeared genuinely torn on Saturday.
His Grenoble side emerged as 33-32 winners after showing mental steel late on in a thrilling contest at Stade des Alpes, though Jackman indicated his sympathy for Pat Lam’s men afterwards.
There was pride to be taken from how his side had managed to eke out victory against an attack as lethal as Connacht’s was in what the Grenoble head coach called a “bananas” game.
However, Jackman was pained to see Connacht’s hearts broken, particularly given how much he respects their approach under Lam and, even more so, for the fact that he spent five seasons with the province as a player.
“It’s worse, I’d rather they were on the other side of the draw and both of us could get to the final,” said Jackman post-match.
I admire good rugby, so when I see Connacht playing – and I know they don’t have the resources that the others have, but the young players there… Matt Healy was in DCU and he played games for me in DCU. Imagine how good he was, scoring three or four tries a game.
“He was a guy who was lost, outside the system and now he’s a key man, he was brilliant. All of our French players were saying, ‘Who’s that guy, Matt Healy?’ He hasn’t played much at full-back, we said potentially we could target that; he targeted us!”
Jackman was head coach at DCU when Healy starred for the university, and says that Connacht bringing players like himself through is a credit to Lam and the province.
“[Healy] was a scrum-half or wing, but it was Wednesday rugby in college; lads he was playing against were probably hungover and he was electric,” said Jackman with a laugh.
“What I like is that there are guys like Niyi [Adeolokun] as well, guys who were out of the system and now they’re viable candidates at some stage to become Ireland players.
“And Connacht themselves are viable candidates for a trophy. Ok, the Challenge Cup is gone for them this year but no one will want to play against them in the knock-out stages [of the Guinness Pro12]. I wouldn’t like to play against them anyway.”
Jackman felt his Grenoble side “didn’t play well” against Connacht, but was heartened by the composure they showed to recover from a 19-3 deficit in the first half, and then come back for the win in the second.
Out-half Jonathan Wisniewski was outstanding for FCG – Jackman is hopeful that France will come calling for the 30-year-old – providing the grit and game management skills that ultimately decided the game.
As encouraging was the manner in which Grenoble stayed true to their philosophy even under pressure. A gorgeous break and offload from Irishman Chris Farrell laid the platform and field position for Wisniewski to eventually fire over the winning drop goal.
“We’re allowed offload, 100%, and I think in the first half, even though the score was 19-3, we had some really good phases and moments in that first 20 minutes and we lost the ball in contact through trying to offload,” said Jackman.
“When we review the match on Monday, we look at the offloads that went well and the ones that didn’t go well and we talk about whether they were good decisions. We don’t talk about the outcome too much.
“Our team have a licence to offload and, in the Top 14, that can help us beat teams that are bigger. So, we’re not going to go away from that.”
The win, Jackman hopes, will continue to bring fans in the gates at Stade des Alpes in the coming weeks and he knows better than anyone what a trophy would do for the club.
As the Irish head coach looks to build a legacy in France, he will watch on with interest as Connacht look to end their season with a trophy of their own, playing in their exhilarating fashion.
“In Irish rugby, all the coaches and provinces will play it the way they see it, but I just think that the framework [Connacht] have gives guys the opportunity to play with the ball in hand and show their skills,” said Jackman.
“Afterwards, if Connacht don’t win a trophy and Leinster or Munster or Ulster win a trophy, the proof will be in the pudding, but I like the way they play, and we try and play similarly.
“We didn’t [on Saturday] but we do try to play because I feel for our players it’s important that if they get the chance to play with the ball and express themselves afterwards everyone will do it their own way.”
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