CONNACHT’S APPROACH HAS always focused on the collective rather than the individual, and despite the emergence of an international star like Robbie Henshaw, that hasn’t changed.
Before last weekend’s win over the Dragons, head coach Pat Lam stressed the importance of teamwork, pointing out that his side are ‘Joe Average’ when they play as individuals — as they did, according to Lam, seven days earlier in a defeat to the Scarlets.
The Six Nations period is always a tricky one at club level, as teams aim to emerge in the best possible shape ahead of the return of their international contingent in its aftermath.
Although they went through a difficult spell recently — winning one game in their last four before last Sunday’s victory at Rodney Parade – international commitments haven’t left too much of a dent in the Conancht squad.
The likes of Nathan White and Kieran Marmion have featured in Ireland’s extended panel, but Robbie Henshaw has been Connacht’s only constant Six Nations absentee. They’ve done okay without him too, winning seven out of ten games this season when the 21-year-old centre has been unavailable.
“Robbie is one of the good guys and we’re delighted for him,” Connacht wing Matt Healy told The42. “He’s obviously cracking on with Ireland at the moment and doing unbelievably well. But luckily we’ve got other guys pushing for that 13 spot within Connacht and they’re top-quality.
“Something that Pat (Lam) and the coaches have been pushing is that individuals aren’t going to win us games, so we’ve got to work together. Before Robbie joined up with the Ireland camp, that was certainly the message.
“With or without Robbie, that’s going to be the recurring theme. But Robbie’s a class player, very much a natural ball player and it’s great to see him doing so well. We’re very proud of him.”
Individual honours might not be among the Connacht players’ top priorities, but Matt Healy was singled out this week when he picked up their Player of the Month award for January, getting the nod from both supporters and the coaching staff.
The 25-year-old Dubliner has been impressive throughout this season for Connacht, and he was their leading try scorer last month after notching a brace against Exeter Chiefs and another one against La Rochelle.
“It’s great to be highlighted by the coaches and management for a couple of good performances,” Healy said.
“To be voted for by supporters kind of gives me another boost in confidence. It’s up to me to reproduce that for the rest of the season and see where that leaves me.”
Healy has represented Ireland at U20 level, although he’s yet to attract the attention of Joe Schmidt. That might not be a priority for the former Gonzaga College student right now, but it is on his to-do list.
He said: “I’m dying to play for Ireland, I don’t think there’s any rugby player in the country who’s not. But to be honest, I have my individual goals and my long-term goals — they’re just on a piece of paper at home — but I very much have to focus on my performances week-in-week-out.
“The big thing for me now is consistency, so that’s something I’m going to be striving for over the next month or two.”
Last weekend’s win in Newport was a relief for Connacht, and it put them back into the top-half in the Guinness Pro12 table after they were briefly nudged out by the Scarlets following their draw with Munster 24 hours earlier.
Pat Lam’s men welcome Treviso to the Sportsground tomorrow (5.15pm). The Italian strugglers may be second-from-bottom, but they’re coming off a big win against Cardiff Blues and there were only three points between the teams when Connacht won at the Stadio Monigo earlier this season.
“Last week was a must-win game for us in terms of where we want to finish in the table,” said Healy. “The belief is always there. We had a rocky few weeks so it was good to get back to winning ways.
“Winning is infectious and that’s the mindset we’re bringing into this weekend. This season has been our best in terms of results and we want to bring that into the tail-end of the season.
“Last year a few losses on the trot would have probably dampened spirits, but we know how hard we’ve worked and the structures we have in place. The support of the management and coaches is so positive as well, so we don’t leave a couple of losses get to us in that way.
“We’re confident in what we’re doing and that’s essential if you’re to be a top-six or top-four team, which is what we want to be.
“Last week was huge, but this is another crunch match. Treviso are a tricky side and they’ve been performing very well recently, so we’re not expecting an easy ride at all.”
The Sportsground will be showing the Ireland vs. England game on Sunday (3pm) before Connacht vs. Treviso kicks off (5.15pm), so supporters are encouraged to get to the ground early.
First published at 10.30 on Saturday, 28 February
