ANDY FRIEND HAS defended the side selected for Connacht’s final Challenge Cup pool game despite a 35-21 loss away to Newcastle Falcons now resulting in them having to travel away to Benetton in the last 16 knockout match.
A bonus point win which would have seen them remain in Ireland all the way to the final never looked like materialising as an understrength side, particularly in a malfunctioning backline where even Irish international Mack Hansen looked out of sorts at No 15, were blitzed by a Falcons side who were eliminated from the competition before the game kicked off.
The continued absence of Irish centre Bundee Aki along with the likes of captain Jack Carty, winger John Porch, lock Niall Murray among others, left Connacht struggling as Falcons raced into a 21-0 lead in the opening quarter, and while Finlay Bealham responded with a hat-trick, Connacht failed to pick up a single point which would have guaranteed home advantage in the last 16.
“We picked the team which we thought was good enough to win. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but I think the boys that earned selection were warranted for selection.
“Of course we can look at it now and say we wish some of them would have been better, of course they could have been better,” said Friend, Connacht’s director of rugby.
The cost of the loss is huge to Connacht both in financial terms and their hopes of advancing to the latter stages of a competition where they have played more games than any other side in Europe but have never reached the final.
A trip to Treviso is winnable but it will be a tough task against an improving Benetton side who will have their Italian internationals back from the Six Nations for that encounter.
The financial loss of a home last 16 clash and possibly a quarter-final runs to hundreds of thousands of euro at a time when Connacht are playing hardball with player contract renegotiations which have created some internal tensions.
Friend didn’t shy away from acknowledging the great opportunity which has slipped from their grasp and the anger was palpable among the large travelling support in the crowd of 3,567.
“It’s massive. You lose home ground advantage, which we did, and that makes it all the more difficult. We are aware of the opportunity missed but at the end of the day we have won three out of four and we are into the top 16.
“We go back to URC next week against the Lions and that’s a really important game for us. We want to keep climbing that URV table so we will regroup and bounce back and see how we go,” added Friend.
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