ANDY FRIEND INSISTS Connacht will have to improve significantly if they are to reach the United Rugby Championship play-offs this season.
Connacht secured a vital 22-19 victory over the Ospreys in Swansea on Saturday night which leaves them just two points off the top eight. While Friend was pleased to leave south Wales with four match points, he was left scathing with certain aspects of his side’s display.
“Our performance lacked the clinical bits that we wanted,” said the Connacht head coach.
“There was a lot of fight. They are brave, driven men and they fight which is a great trait, but we are making life so hard for ourselves. We had six entries into the 22 in the first 25 minutes for zero return where we were turned over every single time.
“The bottom line is I am happy with the win but not as happy with the performance. We have had a really tricky start, but the bottom line is we need to be better at key areas of our game.
“I have no doubt that we will fix those, and we’ll get better, but the break has come at a good time to asses, address the problems and to see if we need to make changes.”
Connacht found themselves 12-0 down before the clock had even reached 10 minutes with Huw Sutton and Reuben Morgan-Williams scoring tries for the Ospreys. But they showed tremendous character to drag themselves back into the game with tries from Alex Wootton, Caolin Blade, and John Porch firing Connacht into the lead. Ireland out-half Jack Carty’s boot also contributed seven points.
Sam Parry scored a try for the hosts with 10 minutes to go but Connacht succeeded in weathering the storm to come out on top. Connacht now have four weeks off before facing Munster at Thomond Park, and Friend believes this break will be of benefit to his side.
“There are areas of our game which need to be tidied up,” said Friend. “The break gives us a chance to settle.
“It gives us a chance to do a proper audit on these first seven weeks with three wins out of seven. We’ve put ourselves back in the hunt because we are still very much alive in this competition.
“We have had a really tricky start but the bottom line is we need to be better at key areas of our game. I have no doubt that we will fix those and we’ll get better but the break has come at a good time to asses, address the problems and to see if we need to make changes.”