CONNACHT STAND-IN skipper Paul Boyle said that they will head into their European Challenge Cup campaign with a pep in their step after hammering the Sharks 44-15 in the league at the weekend.
It was only Connacht’s second win of the season, but they are setting the target high for the Challenge Cup with Boyle backing his new head coach, Stuart Lancaster, in believing they can realistically have a crack at winning Europe’s second-tier competition.
Connacht, who have played more matches than any other team in the Challenge Cup, were poised to have home advantage all the way to the final in Cardiff but came unstuck when they went down 43-40 despite having an extra man for most of their quarter-final clash with Racing 92 in Galway.
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Lancaster, who travelled to that game to see his son Dan play for the French side that he had coached for the previous season and a half, said at the outset of his reign at Dexcom Stadium in the summer that they would be targeting outright success in the Challenge Cup.
Boyle, who scored the first of Connacht’s five tries in their win over the Sharks at the weekend, said that nailing home advantage for the knockout stages is key, and he hopes they can start that process this weekend away to Ospreys and then home to Georgia’s Black Lion the following weekend.
“We put in a good effort last year, but we still didn’t cross the line; we still didn’t get there, even with our home advantage. So look, we’re going to go really hard first, try and get the home advantage first and then see how far we can go in the competition and hopefully go on and win it,” said the 28-year-old Wexford native.
Boyle said that their approach to the Sharks game was top class after a five-week break and that they knew what they needed to produce, especially up front, to oust the Durban side.
“We spoke about just fronting up like a big South African team. You’ve got to carry into them; they are going to come at you with line speed, so you’ve got to be ready for that and make the most of it.
“We had a big lead into this obviously with the November international breaks, and we covered off all the details. We spoke about bringing intensity, bringing physicality, and I think we did that,” he added.
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Connacht's Boyle believes they have realistic chance of winning Challenge Cup
CONNACHT STAND-IN skipper Paul Boyle said that they will head into their European Challenge Cup campaign with a pep in their step after hammering the Sharks 44-15 in the league at the weekend.
It was only Connacht’s second win of the season, but they are setting the target high for the Challenge Cup with Boyle backing his new head coach, Stuart Lancaster, in believing they can realistically have a crack at winning Europe’s second-tier competition.
Connacht, who have played more matches than any other team in the Challenge Cup, were poised to have home advantage all the way to the final in Cardiff but came unstuck when they went down 43-40 despite having an extra man for most of their quarter-final clash with Racing 92 in Galway.
Lancaster, who travelled to that game to see his son Dan play for the French side that he had coached for the previous season and a half, said at the outset of his reign at Dexcom Stadium in the summer that they would be targeting outright success in the Challenge Cup.
Boyle, who scored the first of Connacht’s five tries in their win over the Sharks at the weekend, said that nailing home advantage for the knockout stages is key, and he hopes they can start that process this weekend away to Ospreys and then home to Georgia’s Black Lion the following weekend.
“We put in a good effort last year, but we still didn’t cross the line; we still didn’t get there, even with our home advantage. So look, we’re going to go really hard first, try and get the home advantage first and then see how far we can go in the competition and hopefully go on and win it,” said the 28-year-old Wexford native.
Boyle said that their approach to the Sharks game was top class after a five-week break and that they knew what they needed to produce, especially up front, to oust the Durban side.
“We spoke about just fronting up like a big South African team. You’ve got to carry into them; they are going to come at you with line speed, so you’ve got to be ready for that and make the most of it.
“We had a big lead into this obviously with the November international breaks, and we covered off all the details. We spoke about bringing intensity, bringing physicality, and I think we did that,” he added.
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Challenge Cup Connacht Optimism Paul Boyle Rugby The Sharks