Magnificent comeback sees off Munster men

The chips were down for Connacht rugby followers on Saturday, the previous night’s drubbing in Edinburgh had crushed the early season optimism and all seemed to be lost, but just in the nick of time a spirited bunch of young stars from the West lifted the gloomy clouds and restored a bit of hope on Saturday evening with a magnificent come from behind victory over Munster.The best of the Connacht Academy were too strong their southern counterparts in this under 20 inter-pro season opener thanks to a tenacious and tireless work rate up front and a little moment of sheer class from Tiernan O'Halloran in the second half. The try sparked a comeback that was concluded with a push over try from a perfect line-out with just a handful of minutes remaining.As a contest this was a brilliant advert for under 20 rugby, which spectators get to see so little off these days. Both sides produced honest, hard hitting and at times bone crunching rugby from start to finish. Munster had their spells of dominance and at one point in the second half looked to be cruising to victory but heart, endeavor, and bags of ability were on show for the home side late on.The coaching team of Nigel Carolan and Dan McFarland have been producing competitive and impressive teams for a number of years now, but the breakthrough wins have been few and far between. On Saturday, their hard work really came to the fore as the Shane Conneely led side showed their true worth in a must-win opener. Conneely was inspirational at eight putting in a typically barnstorming display on a day when his younger brother Aaron captained the Connacht under 18s youths to a superb double. The entire Connacht pack were with him all the way and it was their fierce work in defense that helped them keep in touch with their opponents.