THE MONDAY REVIEW will be a strange one for Connacht next week. Was there really 28 points between them and Leinster at the RDS last night?
For much of the first half, it was the visitors who brought the game to Leinster – not many teams come to Dublin and do that.
Jack Carty was pulling the strings beautifully at 10, ably supported by his half-back partner Kieran Marmion. The lively Mack Hansen was bringing plenty of spark out wide and the Connacht pack were putting in a strong shift against their more venerated hosts.
Yet it all quickly unravelled. After leaving a couple of chances behind them, Connacht conceded two quick-fire tries either side of the half-time break which opened the game up for the home team.
In total, Leinster ran in seven tries as their bench shifted the balance – with Andrew Porter outstanding in the second period.
Plenty of teams lose by such a margin against Leinster, but not many make life so difficult for Leo Cullen’s side, who were out to prove a point after last week’s loss to Ulster.
“Not disheartened, (but) disappointed with elements of that,” said Connacht head coach, Andy Friend.
“There were some really good things in there. I thought the tries before half-time and the one after half time were the two that really hurt us.
As we grow as a team you go down 14 points, you still got to have belief, to know you can come back, even though it’s Leinster. And I question whether we had that belief. And then we went down 21 points, and then we found something again and we get a score. That’s part of our own fortitude that we’ve got to continue to grow.
“We knew they were going to bounce back, they are a very good rugby side and the scoreline probably shows the difference between us.”
Connacht have made great strides under Friend’s watch, but there is still a feeling that this season – their fourth under the Australian – is a key one in terms of their development.
A summer coaching shake-up hasn’t stalled their progress and their new signings have settled in quickly, but they remain some distance off being the force they feel they can become.
Against the dominant team in the league last night, their shortcomings were ruthlessly exposed. Connacht are a highly entertaining team to watch, but they must be more clinical and will need to find a way of living with more powerful forward packs if they are to keep punching above their weight across the coming months.
“They stayed in the game for longer. That’s what we’ve got to learn,” Friend continued.
“When we stayed in the game I thought we were really good and that’s the bit were we got to continue to believe as a group. We have to enjoy that struggle.
“The first try we got and then there was a struggle, they got a try and it was a good struggle, we got a try and it was good struggle, they got another one. It was a great game of rugby for the first 40 minutes. I thought the one after half time hurt us.
“That was our challenge in the changing room. How many blokes thought it’s going to be too hard now – because if you did (believe that), that’s why they came over the top of us.”
While Friend had few complaints with the final score, he did admit to an element of frustration around the decision not to award a try when Oran McNulty appeared to dot down in the first half after the Connacht full-back chased his own kick through alongside Ryan Baird.
McNulty felt he had touched the ball down, but referee Chris Busby said no try, and wasn’t swayed after viewing a couple of replays with his TMO.
“I thought he did (touch it down) too, but it’s hard to see the angle when you don’t look at it,” Friend said.
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