ON SATURDAY NIGHT, the French rugby public sat up and took notice of Connacht.
As Grenoble head coach Bernard Jackman indicated after his side squeezed past the western province in a thrilling Challenge Cup final, the game went out on free-to-air TV in the primetime 9pm slot.
What French rugby supporters witnessed was a stunning demonstration of attacking rugby. Midi Olympique, the biweekly rugby newspaper, was enthusiastic about Connacht on Monday morning and that praise has been echoed almost everywhere in the French media.
Sitting in Paris on Saturday night, ahead of Sunday’s Champions Cup quarter-final win against Toulon, Racing 92 assistant coach Ronan O’Gara and his family were as impressed as anyone.
The sense of occasion around Connacht’s quarter-final, and their faithful travelling Connacht Clan, reminded O’Gara of something he was part of in years gone by.
Speaking after Racing’s win against Toulon at Stade Yves du Manoir in Paris, O’Gara recounted his feeling that Connacht are building something big.
“My mum and dad are over and I just said to them, ‘It’s like Munster 15 years ago,’” said O’Gara. “Them all suppin’ pints in the crowd, everyone going bananas.
“It’s such a great occasion to be part of and Grenoble with a serious team, Birch [Jackman] and Prendy [Mike Prendergast] going well there. I thought it was just fascinating to watch. It was everything good about Irish rugby, for a small nation.”
O’Gara believes Connacht are playing rugby the right way under Pat Lam, and praised their attacking play.
However, the more pragmatic part of him wonders if Connacht could have managed the game against Grenoble a little better. The Racing coach certainly feels that the defeat in Stade des Alpes will have been an important learning experience.
“I think they’re exceptionally clinical and accurate and I think they just so believe in their game plan and what they’re being coached,” said O’Gara. “It’s fascinating to watch, but at 19-3 when things are going so well, sometimes you just have to take the pace out of the game.
That’s not me saying something off my high horse, it’s just a humble opinion on it. At 19-3, a penalty 10 minutes later and another penalty makes it a three-score game, which mentally is insurmountable.
“I don’t think you always have to… it’s so much easier watching it on a computer. When you’re out there, it’s not that easy.
“They have a different out-half and I think he has huge potential, I thought Shane O’Leary had great moments but that happened.
“I learned those kind of mistakes in the AIL, he’s learning them in Stade des Alpes. That’ll stand to him and accelerate his development. It’s great he’s getting an opportunity like that.”
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