CONNACHT COACH STUART Lancaster was disappointed to see his side lose control of a 21-point lead against the Ospreys but doesn’t believe a losing start to this season EPCR Challenge Cup campaign will be terminal to their European chances.

Three first half tries in a wind assisted opening 40 minutes enabled Lancaster’s men to race into a 21-5 interval lead. But in the second half they weren’t able to add any more as the Welsh region came powering back into the contest.

Now Connacht face a ‘must win’ clash with Georgian side Black Lion in Galway in Round 2, before facing a double dose of Top 14 French opposition in Montpellier and Montauban.

“I’m disappointed we couldn’t get the job done after starting so well. At 21-0 up playing away from home and playing really well, to lose momentum as we did to allow the Ospreys to get back into the game was disappointing,” said Lancaster.

“The Ospreys were slow to start and we needed to be more ruthless and take the game away from them. We didn’t and you could feel the momentum swing.

“But it’s not terminal in Europe when you go away from home and gain a point. It’s a start for us but we need to win next weekend against Black Lion and then we have to go to Montpellier and get something.

“I know from my experience at Leinster how important these pool games are to give you a step into the last 16 and give you the advantage you want.

“It’s very disappointing but there were a lot of good players who weren’t out there and who are ready to come back. It was a chance for me to learn about the squad and I learned a lot.”

The loss of two tight head props not only caused problems in the game, but could prove a difficulty in selection ahead of the game against a Georgian team that likes nothing better than to scrimmage.

Finlay Bealham lasted 11 minutes and then Jack Aungier, who replaced him, came off in the second half. That meant that a re-jig in the front row which led to passive scrums when Denis Buckley picked up a yellow card for dropping two five metre scrums in the 67th minute.

“We had a bit of adversity in the scrum. We lost Finlay to a high shot and Jack Augnier came on,” added Lancaster.

“Then we lost Jack and so Jordan Duggan had to go to tight head. There was a bit of adversity there that we couldn’t control.

“There were little moments in the 10-minute period before half time and then 10 minutes at the start of the second half that we gave away too many penalties. The momentum swung, the crowd got behind the home team and I could feel things turning against us.

“Then we had a penalty five metres from their line and we didn’t tap the ball Fundamental errors like that we have to get out of our system if we want to be considered a top end team.

“The wind also changed and was a bit of a lottery. It was a factor, but the biggest factor was that the Ospreys began to assert set piece dominance on our forwards.

“We couldn’t regain the initiative until we went behind when we played with the desperation and urgency we needed to have played with in the middle third.

“I thought there was a forward pass for their final try, but I’m more frustrated that we had got ourselves in that position than the try being given. I’m not going to criticise the officials when things were in our control.

“There was a lack of accuracy and energy at the start of the second half and the penalty count went against us. We gave ourselves a chance at the end, but I just felt the intensity we showed then was lacking in the first period of the second half and that cost us the game.”