STUART LANCASTER SAID that Connacht’s failure to even get a bonus point was ‘sickening’ after a disappointing performance which saw them go down 29-15 to the Stormers, with the South Africans hitting two late tries in Galway.
Last season Connacht picked up just 16 points in the first half of their URC campaign but then sneaked into the knockout places with a remarkable run which saw them collect 38 points out of a maximum 45 in their last nine games.
They secured a top-half finish and a place in the Champions Cup with two points to spare over Ulster and Lancaster knows that failing to pick up anything from a home game could be costly.
Advertisement
“Obviously, gut-wrenching to concede the last try at the end. I didn’t feel we’d done enough to win the game, but I felt we’d done enough to get the point,” he said after the Stormers scored two late tries to seal a bonus point and leave his side empty-handed after a poor display.
“I think our error count, ultimately, was just too high, and against a team like the Stormers, who got a very good scrum, a very good mall, a knock-on leads to a scrum, which leads to a penalty, which leads to a lineout, which leads to a maul. And you’re just feeding what they’re strong at.
And I think, for us, the big learning really is to make sure we can execute under pressure against a physical team, and come out on top,” he added.
Lancaster was without the seven players who were on the Irish tour along with new signing Ciarán Frawley, and while Mack Hansen crowned his return with a strong opening half display where he scored a try and helped set their second for Josh Ioane, Connacht were on the back foot for most of the second half and were starved of possession as the Stormers turned a 12-10 interval deficit around.
“I can’t remember many sequences of play where we were in their 22 in the second half,” added Lancaster.
“And that ultimately cost us. You can’t keep defending, the weight of possession and the weight of penalties starts to come against you, and that’s ultimately what happened, but that said, to go and concede the last try at the end was sickening.
“We’ll have to go to Treviso now and roll up our sleeves up and get a win, because every point counts in this league, and I know from last year that if you start slowly, it’s hard to catch up.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
'Gut-wrenching to concede the last try' - Lancaster laments defeat for Connacht
STUART LANCASTER SAID that Connacht’s failure to even get a bonus point was ‘sickening’ after a disappointing performance which saw them go down 29-15 to the Stormers, with the South Africans hitting two late tries in Galway.
Last season Connacht picked up just 16 points in the first half of their URC campaign but then sneaked into the knockout places with a remarkable run which saw them collect 38 points out of a maximum 45 in their last nine games.
They secured a top-half finish and a place in the Champions Cup with two points to spare over Ulster and Lancaster knows that failing to pick up anything from a home game could be costly.
“Obviously, gut-wrenching to concede the last try at the end. I didn’t feel we’d done enough to win the game, but I felt we’d done enough to get the point,” he said after the Stormers scored two late tries to seal a bonus point and leave his side empty-handed after a poor display.
“I think our error count, ultimately, was just too high, and against a team like the Stormers, who got a very good scrum, a very good mall, a knock-on leads to a scrum, which leads to a penalty, which leads to a lineout, which leads to a maul. And you’re just feeding what they’re strong at.
And I think, for us, the big learning really is to make sure we can execute under pressure against a physical team, and come out on top,” he added.
Lancaster was without the seven players who were on the Irish tour along with new signing Ciarán Frawley, and while Mack Hansen crowned his return with a strong opening half display where he scored a try and helped set their second for Josh Ioane, Connacht were on the back foot for most of the second half and were starved of possession as the Stormers turned a 12-10 interval deficit around.
“I can’t remember many sequences of play where we were in their 22 in the second half,” added Lancaster.
“And that ultimately cost us. You can’t keep defending, the weight of possession and the weight of penalties starts to come against you, and that’s ultimately what happened, but that said, to go and concede the last try at the end was sickening.
“We’ll have to go to Treviso now and roll up our sleeves up and get a win, because every point counts in this league, and I know from last year that if you start slowly, it’s hard to catch up.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Connacht Disappointment Rugby Stuart Lancaster URC