CONNACHT LOCK ANDREW Browne hailed the way his Pro12 champion team-mates kept their heads in the head of Grand Final battle against Leinster.
The western province appear to have gotten used to playing massive, pivotal games on a weekly basis after facing dethroning the reigning champions with back-to-back wins before Saturday’s momentous 20 -10 win their provincial rivals.
So when the final whistle went on an astounding season, Browne wasn’t overcome by emotion. After a rock solid 20-minute shift he would have had the energy to go berserk if he fancied it, but Connacht had worked hard to channel their feelings into rucks and tackles.
“They were actually quite calm,” The Galwegian said of his full-time emotions.
“I just got up and stood there for a while, lads were just celebrating and time stopped for a second, I saw Niyi (Adeolokun) and we came from afar and met and it was just incredible…”
In terms of keeping focused, Browne and his fellow replacements had a tougher job than the 15 starters. During the incredible opening 30 minute showcase they had to watch from the sidelines like everyone else. Unlike every other Connacht and neutral fan, they had to try and not be swept away by the euphoria as Tiernan O’Halloran and Adeolokun romped over the line.
“It was a little bit (hard to keep a lid on it), especially being on the bench. In the first half the lads came out and they were unbelievable. Some of the play, we were remarking on the bench it was some of the best of the season, we were trying not to get too excited on the bench and you had to calm yourself down and reserve your energy a little bit so that you made an impact when you came on.
It would have been real easy to get carried away with the occasion, but we talked all week about keeping our heads, do the same thing we’ve done all season and I think we did that today.”
In the day since, the achievement will have really set in. But it was telling that there was no Connacht player reluctant to talk about winning a back-to-back title. They are in the winners circle now, they are top dogs on the island, they’ve built something special and they have every right to think big.
“We celebrated after the match, but in the changing room Pat talked, Mul talked, it’s about backing that up next year, we can’t just be one-trick ponies.
“We know it’s going to be a tough task next year but if we want to progress in the way we’ve talked about the way we know Connacht can then we have to show up next year.”
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