Connacht force Springboks to fight to the end

The predicted demolition never materialised, partly due to South African inertia but mostly because new-look Connacht dipped into areservoir of passion and resilience of the type that has scarcely hallmarked their performances in this calendar year.In the end, so concerted and gutsy were their efforts that they probably merited something more from their showpiece occasion than a solitary penalty goal, yet they could derive some serious satisfaction in having made a side representing one of the powerhouses of world rugby fight to the finish to protect theirless-than-convincing margin of victory.More importantly, Connacht’s reborn attitude and application may have restored the goodwill so manifest towards them a year ago but in rapid decline after one-toomany displays of questionablecommitment in their lamentable post-Christmas campaign.