STUART LANCASTER SAID he is just pleased that Connacht have extended their winning run rather than dwell on how they did not go for a bonus-point win in the final play.
Connacht turned over a ball in midfield as the clock headed into the red and got as far as the 22 but when it was recycled from a ruck, replacement Sean O’Brien kicked the ball into touch to end the game with many of his teammates looking at him in disbelief.
Lancaster said the key thing was to get the win which keeps them in the hunt for a knockout place. It remains to be seen how costly that extra point might turn out to be but, of course, there was a risk they could be turned over and Ospreys counter with the score at 21-14.
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“I think you can’t underestimate how much we respect Ospreys for what they’re doing, how hard they’re fighting for the club,” said Lancaster. “So they’re a gritty team, they’re a hard team to beat, and we did it.
“Obviously, you could argue, let’s go for the bonus point, but at the time the boys felt that job done, so we’ll discuss that on Monday, but I’m not disappointed because we know how good our Ospreys are. And they had a whole lot of internationals coming back in who made a difference.”
Connacht had to dig deep for their win with two tries from Shamus Hurley-Langton, back after more than three months out through injury, and one from Ulster-bound Matthew Devine.
Lancaster said it was a different game to their win in Ulster the previous week.
“The penalty count last week was nine in total, this week it was 21, I think 11 against us, 10 against us.
“So that makes a difference, doesn’t it? It makes a big difference to the flow of the game, the rhythm of the game, the wind makes a difference. You’re trying to play your way out into a gale, as they found, it’s hard, it’s hard. So every game is different, and sometimes you’ve just got to find a way to win, and the teams I’ve been with in the past, when you get to the league table at the end of the season, it’s those gritty wins that are actually the ones that really, really matter.
“They’re the ones that came up short early in the season but now I don’t think there’s many teams that have won five on the bounce.
“The step we’ve taken is that we have translated what we’ve done in training on a more consistent basis into games, so I’m always trying to put them under pressure in training, and I think what’s happened,” added Lancaster.
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'It's those gritty wins that are actually the ones that really, really matter'
STUART LANCASTER SAID he is just pleased that Connacht have extended their winning run rather than dwell on how they did not go for a bonus-point win in the final play.
Connacht turned over a ball in midfield as the clock headed into the red and got as far as the 22 but when it was recycled from a ruck, replacement Sean O’Brien kicked the ball into touch to end the game with many of his teammates looking at him in disbelief.
Lancaster said the key thing was to get the win which keeps them in the hunt for a knockout place. It remains to be seen how costly that extra point might turn out to be but, of course, there was a risk they could be turned over and Ospreys counter with the score at 21-14.
“I think you can’t underestimate how much we respect Ospreys for what they’re doing, how hard they’re fighting for the club,” said Lancaster. “So they’re a gritty team, they’re a hard team to beat, and we did it.
“Obviously, you could argue, let’s go for the bonus point, but at the time the boys felt that job done, so we’ll discuss that on Monday, but I’m not disappointed because we know how good our Ospreys are. And they had a whole lot of internationals coming back in who made a difference.”
Connacht had to dig deep for their win with two tries from Shamus Hurley-Langton, back after more than three months out through injury, and one from Ulster-bound Matthew Devine.
Lancaster said it was a different game to their win in Ulster the previous week.
“The penalty count last week was nine in total, this week it was 21, I think 11 against us, 10 against us.
“So that makes a difference, doesn’t it? It makes a big difference to the flow of the game, the rhythm of the game, the wind makes a difference. You’re trying to play your way out into a gale, as they found, it’s hard, it’s hard. So every game is different, and sometimes you’ve just got to find a way to win, and the teams I’ve been with in the past, when you get to the league table at the end of the season, it’s those gritty wins that are actually the ones that really, really matter.
“They’re the ones that came up short early in the season but now I don’t think there’s many teams that have won five on the bounce.
“The step we’ve taken is that we have translated what we’ve done in training on a more consistent basis into games, so I’m always trying to put them under pressure in training, and I think what’s happened,” added Lancaster.
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