CONNACHT COACH PETE Wilkins said Friday night was the perfect way to crown a new era for the province as they scored a bonus-point win over Bristol to at least book a place into the Challenge Cup knockout stages.
Tries by Shayne Bolton, Jack Aungier, Caolin Blade and Andrew Smith secured the all-important fifth match point as Connacht blasted Pat Lam’s Bristol Bears out of Europe.
The western province still have a fractional chance of reaching the Champions Cup last 16 but they require a massive upset at the StoneX Stadium tonight where Saracens — who need at least one point to go through — host an already-qualified Lyon team who have sent a weakened team to London.
Wilkins, though, was pleased that his side not only stayed alive in Europe in some form, but did so in style as The Sportsground began its makeover under its new name: Dexcom Stadium.
“We were all really aware of how important today was in terms of the announcement and the excitement around that,” Wilkins said. “We talk about fresh chapters at the club. Again, this is another important building block in that. We knew we would have a terrific crowd here supporting us.
“I think it was appropriate that we not just capped it with a win but with a really sound performance as well.”
The win ended a seven-match losing run for Connacht in the Champions Cup.
Wilkins believes that his side has incrementally improved as the competition has progressed and, even if Connacht are to drop into the Challenge Cup later tonight, that they will be better for the experience ahead of future top-tier campaigns.
“I was really proud of the effort and I thought it was a good way to finish the pool stages at least, given what came before it,” said Wilkins.
“As a club we’re ambitious and we always strive for that. I’m pleased we’re still in Europe. Although we had three losses to start the European campaign this year, we were able to build each time and we learned something from it.
“Some of the time, we just learned to take our medicine. We were poor against Bordeaux, against Saracens we learned a lot about our game management, and against Lyon we learned a lot about the consistency in terms of what you need to be to be competing at Champions Cup level.
“Each one was an important stepping stone, although a bit painful at times.”
