Connacht must drive on after finally stopping the rot

THE remainder of Connacht’s season would have been a complete write off had they lost for the 11th consecutive time in the Rabo Direct Pro 12 at the Sportsground on Saturday night. And though such a fate was only avoided by the skin of their teeth thanks to Niall O’Connor’s magnificent last gasp penalty into the wind, the sharing of the spoils against Glasgow has managed to stop the rot and gives the squad a timely morale boost ahead of their final seven matches in the competition.

On the surface, Connacht have little left to play for – does it really matter whether they finish second or third from bottom in the league? – but the crowds who continue to flock to the Sportsground in good numbers will gradually lose patience (and their loyalty) if the results keep going against the home team. Even sponsors are not going to keep bankrolling a team indefinitely which is continually falling short inside the four white lines.

That’s why Saturday night’s draw against an admittedly severely weakened Glasgow outfit was important. The Connacht players have no time for pious platitudes or hard luck stories; they are here to win and though Gavin Duffy and company have been consistently competitive this season – notwithstanding their awful home effort against Treviso and that shocking away display against Aironi – the wins column is scarce.

We all know the odds remain stacked against Connacht in terms of funding which has an obvious ‘knock on’ effect on their playing resources, but there remains something heroic about their continued defiance. The marketing of the Connacht rugby brand remains exceptional; the Sportsground has got a badly needed revamp; and they weren’t blown away – as many pundits had predicted – in the Heineken Cup. Still, a lot of the same players are laying their bodies on the line week in, week out, and that punishing schedule tends to catch up on them towards the end of the campaign.

Even allowing for that background, Connacht were generally expected to topple a Glasgow outfit which was missing their seven Scottish internationals. Having defeated Harlequins in the Heineken Cup and since unlucky to have just collected a bonus point for their sterling efforts away to Cardiff Blues, the pressure was on Eric Elwood’s squad to follow through on those performances last Saturday night.In a forgettable opening-half, however, Connacht had no shortage of territory or possession when backed by the strong wind, but their play lacked fluency, their passing was laboured and there were some critical unforced errors which all led to an unhealthy half-time predicament – trailing by 7-3.

O’Connor had missed his opening two penalties, but both were difficult opportunities – one near the sideline, the other from inside his own half – before splitting the posts just on the stroke of half-time. Glasgow had taken the lead from a softy conceded Jon Welsh try after he broke though a couple of flimsy tackles and the Scots must have thought they had the hard work done.

To Connacht’s credit, they rolled up their sleeves in the second-half and lifted the intensity of their display. A crossfield kick from O’Connor paved the way for the excellent Tiernan O’Halloran to just make the line after Gavin Duffy and Peter Murchie had contested the dropping ball. They were still three behind with time running out, but O’Connor held his nerve from out on the right wing to earn Connacht a draw that was far more precious than, perhaps, is generally presumed.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.