CONNACHT INTERIM coach Cullie Tucker has praised the character of his charges in the wake of their narrow defeat to the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.
In the immediate aftermath of the see-saw battle at the Cape Town Stadium, Stormers coach John Dobson made an interesting admission.
“Credit to Connacht, we knew what they were going to bring as the top attacking side in terms of linebreaks and metres made… and they still opened us up,” Dobson said.
“We were very lucky to come away with this game with the win. It was one hell of a wake-up call for us.”
Santiago Cordero crossed the tryline on the stroke of full-time, much to the delight of the Connacht players on the sideline.
The officials reviewed the build-up, however, and penalised the visitors for an obstruction.
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The upshot is that Connacht will leave Cape Town with two log points instead of five.
Afterwards, Tucker had mixed feelings about the result.
“Congratulations to the Stormers, it was a great game of rugby,” the interim coach said.
“I’m very proud of our effort, we fought right to the end, and got into their 22 twice during that period.
“Nobody gave us a chance before the match, but we showed massive resilience.
“There is a lot of character in this group. They certainly did the club and the jersey proud.”
Connacht started the 15th round ranked 13th in the United Rugby Championship standings, yet only three log points behind eighth-placed Edinburgh.
When asked if Connacht can still qualify for the playoffs following the loss in Cape Town, Tucker replied: “Yes I do.”
While the decision to disallow Cordero’s try will be scrutinised at length in the coming days, there is something to be taken from the fact that Connacht scored five against the Stormers.
“We executed well for the other tries, and I’m proud of that,” Tucker said.
“We got over the line [at the end]… as we got over the line against Munster. That, for me, shows the desire in this team.
“It’s a heartbreaking loss, make no mistake, but such is life. We’ve had a few of those.
“I expect the squad to produce another big performance against the Lions next week.”
The Lions will certainly be there for the taking, after losing 42-31 to Benetton on Saturday.
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'Nobody gave us a chance before the match, but we showed massive resilience'
CONNACHT INTERIM coach Cullie Tucker has praised the character of his charges in the wake of their narrow defeat to the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.
In the immediate aftermath of the see-saw battle at the Cape Town Stadium, Stormers coach John Dobson made an interesting admission.
“Credit to Connacht, we knew what they were going to bring as the top attacking side in terms of linebreaks and metres made… and they still opened us up,” Dobson said.
“We were very lucky to come away with this game with the win. It was one hell of a wake-up call for us.”
Santiago Cordero crossed the tryline on the stroke of full-time, much to the delight of the Connacht players on the sideline.
The officials reviewed the build-up, however, and penalised the visitors for an obstruction.
The upshot is that Connacht will leave Cape Town with two log points instead of five.
Afterwards, Tucker had mixed feelings about the result.
“Congratulations to the Stormers, it was a great game of rugby,” the interim coach said.
“I’m very proud of our effort, we fought right to the end, and got into their 22 twice during that period.
“Nobody gave us a chance before the match, but we showed massive resilience.
“There is a lot of character in this group. They certainly did the club and the jersey proud.”
Connacht started the 15th round ranked 13th in the United Rugby Championship standings, yet only three log points behind eighth-placed Edinburgh.
When asked if Connacht can still qualify for the playoffs following the loss in Cape Town, Tucker replied: “Yes I do.”
While the decision to disallow Cordero’s try will be scrutinised at length in the coming days, there is something to be taken from the fact that Connacht scored five against the Stormers.
“We executed well for the other tries, and I’m proud of that,” Tucker said.
“We got over the line [at the end]… as we got over the line against Munster. That, for me, shows the desire in this team.
“It’s a heartbreaking loss, make no mistake, but such is life. We’ve had a few of those.
“I expect the squad to produce another big performance against the Lions next week.”
The Lions will certainly be there for the taking, after losing 42-31 to Benetton on Saturday.
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