CONNACHT HAVE RECEIVED a boost ahead of their final scheduled URC game in Glasgow on Saturday night with experienced winger John Porch available after recovering from a calf injury.
The 29-year old Australian has played 18 games this season and his return to a side where Mack Hansen and Bundee Aki have settled back in after their Six Nations exploits gives Connacht extra options.
Head coach Pete Wilkins said they are aware of the permutations around their qualification for the Champions Cup but the easiest way to look at it is that a win over Glasgow Warriors will guarantee a return to Europe’s top competition.
They have secured a knockout spot in the URC with six straight wins and while the other teams will have played by the time they start on Saturday night and they will know exactly what they need to do, Wilkins said they are not going to get side-tracked by permutations.
“We want to play Champions Cup next season. We have a big job to do and it is a terrific challenge,” said Wilkins.
“There is a positive mood this week and it was massive for us to qualify for a knockout place at the weekend with a game to spare.
“We had a tough start to the season with fixtures and the results of those games and it shows how far we have come this season to get it done in Round 17.
“But it’s like half-time, we now have another job to do in Glasgow.”
They will be without former skipper Jarrad Butler who is out with a hamstring injury which is not expected to be long-term, but didn’t pick up any new injuries when hammering Cardiff 38-19 at the weekend.
Meanwhile, Wilkins, who will take full charge at the Sportsground when Andy Friend departs after five years, said the acquisition of former Leinster star Scott Fardy as defence coach is a big boost.
The former Wallaby will arrive along with Connacht’s most capped player John Muldoon, who is back after five years coaching in Bristol Bears, and Wilkins said Fardy will bring a lot to the table.
“He understands what it takes to win, not just in terms of performance on a weekend but what it takes to get a team ready and what a winning environment looks like.
“And then also on top of that the mindset is really important alongside the rugby leading to being successful whether you have 15 internationals on the field as he would have done with some of the teams he played with in his career or whether that is him leading more a band of developing players and younger, less experienced guys, I think he has seen winning in all different scenarios,” added Wilkins.
