Connacht’s early fire fails to quench spirit of the Dragons

Dragons  9

AFTER a needlessly complicated performance on Saturday night, Connacht really do look like a team that is overly consumed with the bigger picture and struggling with the brass tacks.

Playing catch up in the Pro12 is a real nightmare and a fool's errand too when you consider their are just eight games left in the campaign. This five point win over a stubborn Dragons outfit was both a vital victory and a sobering reality check.

Talk of top four play-offs or even automatic Champions Cup qualification is farcical at this stage. Connacht have been a lower half of the table all season, not a typical bottom six side in the sense that they make more line breaks and create more trying scoring chances than most teams, but deserving of their place there all the same when you factor in a dreadfully low conversion rate for scoring chances and a misfiring lineout.

All season, this has been the case, almost every game, a mix of sparks of brilliance with inexplicably poor decisions within the 22. There have certainly been some high points, Cardiff last week or the home wins over Ulster and Edinburgh but for the most part, it has been a drab Pro12 campaign and a considerably step back from the glory of a little under ten months ago.

And yet, despite all of the doom and gloom, the crowds continue to flock to the College Road venue. There seems to be a real belief that this squad of title winners are at a tricky juncture in their development but not far off from rediscovering their verve. The Toulouse frustrations will take a while to dissipate, but a run of results to finish the campaign and a Champions Cup spot via the end of the seasons play-offs could help turn the tide.

The news was out that Kieran Keane was likely to be announced as the new Head Coach this week long before the supporters gathered in Galway on Saturday night. The Lam era would be able to conclude without a cloud of uncertainty and there was probably still some hope that with a favourable run of fixtures in the offing, a surge up the standings might still be on the cards.

Perhaps, but the key thing to remember is there are seven automatic Champions Cup qualification positions to be filled by Pro12 sides, four go to the best team from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy regardless of their overall slot. The other three are on the league positions. Leinster, Scarlets and Ulster look to be out of reach of Connacht unless one of them has a spectacular downturn in form.

For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.