Ryan Bailey reports from the Sportsground
A GRANDSTAND FINISH ensured this was a rollercoaster of an afternoon fraught with tension and emotion, but the collective roar when Caolin Blade booted the ball over the Clan Terrace spoke volumes of what it means to Connacht and their supporters.
It was a nail-biter from start to finish but Andy Friend’s side again showed their capacity to edge close games when not at their free-flowing best, with Matt Healy’s 71st-minute try ultimately proving to be the difference in a high-stakes shootout with Cardiff Blues.
A fourth straight Pro14 victory books Connacht a quarter-final date with Ulster next month, while the importance of securing a place in next season’s Champions Cup pool stages cannot be understated.
Nobody can deny they don’t deserve to be back at the top table of European rugby.
“Yeah, it’s pretty pleasing, you can probably hear the singing coming from the changing room,” Friend said at full-time.
“We knew what was on the line there today and Cardiff knew what was on the line, and you could see how desperate both teams were to win. I thought our second half was very good and it’s great to get the win.
“It means a lot to all of us, it means a lot to the west of Ireland. For Irish rugby it’s a great sign and we’re really pleased we’ll be there [in the Champions Cup] next year.”
In typical Galway conditions, Connacht established a seven-point half-time lead with the gale at their back and returned after the interval with greater intent and accuracy to always keep their noses in front.
First-half scores from Blade and Gavin Thornbury had set the westerners on their way but it was their second-half performance which impressed most, the home side scoring tries through man-of-the-match Jack Carty and Healy, while they defended their line stoically and bravely.
“We talked at half-time about our body language and felt Cardiff had got the best of us in that first half with their ability to get ahead of the game,” Friend explained.
“We basically just said ‘listen, there are 40 minutes left, let’s empty the tanks’ and I thought the way we started the second half was outstanding. You know you’re up against the wind, you know you’re up against an opposition, and you have to work a little bit harder.
“The players are playing for each other. You can just see they’re working really hard for each other and they’re finding ways to get those little breaks to put the opposition under pressure. We seemed to always keep that seven-point margin which was great. If they scored, we knew we had to up the ante and we went harder. I thought it was a really gutsy performance.”
There were big shifts all over the park from a Connacht perspective. Carty was sublime in steering his side to victory, with the out-half scoring 14 points including a brilliant second-half try after excellent work by Bundee Aki and Tom Farrell earlier in the move.
Paul Boyle again showed his development into a potent weapon in the back row, playing a key role in Blade’s opening try, while captain Jarrad Butler and Colby Fainga’a got through huge work, the pair both making 13 tackles. Thornbury and Ultan Dillane were totemic in the second row too.
Even when Cardiff came roaring back at the hosts, as Olly Robinson’s try in the far corner reduced the deficit to just seven points with nine minutes left, Connacht moved through the gears again as Healy acrobatically finished after Robin Copeland disrupted the restart.
“To win away at Zebre in the manner in which the way we did showed a steeliness about the side and we saw it out there again today and it’s four in a row now in the Pro14,” Friend continued.
Whilst it may not be our prettiest rugby, it’s winning rugby and we still know there’s more to come.
Connacht now have a week to recharge the batteries ahead of their final regular-season game against Munster at Thomond Park, leading into a knockout tie against Ulster at Kingspan Stadium in early May.
“We said at the start of the year, maybe ambitiously, but believed it because you can’t enter a competition if you’re not prepared to want to win it,” Friend added.
“We said we wanted to win it and we’ll have a quarter-final against Ulster, but before that, we’ve got to go to Munster. People will say the result doesn’t matter, but it does, because sport is about momentum too so we want to keep winning. That’ll be a huge game in Thomond Park and then Ulster in a quarter-final, which is very exciting.
“You want to be at the business end and now we’re in the quarter-final, we want to go further than that.”
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