No fairytale result, but what an occasion

SO this is what we in the west have been missing for the last 16 seasons.

The result may have had a predictable feel to it but Saturday evening at the Sportsground was so far removed from anything ever seen at the home of Connacht Rugby.

Galway was abuzz, gripped by rugby fever.

The French aristocrats of Toulouse, Europe’s most successful club, rolled into town for the first ever Heineken Cup clash in the city, which lived up to its reputation of knowing how to throw a party. Garda escorts up the closed College Road, for guests of honour, President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins and An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny. Satellite TV, Sky, was in town, adding to the hype; even the IRFU ‘bigwigs’ and ‘blazers’ made the trip down the M6 from Dublin.

Ticket touts on College Road; match programmes from the Clan Terrace booths sold out almost 20 minutes before kick-off. Seriously, who’d have thought it?

An official attendance of 9,120, a record for a rugby match in the city, thronged into the newly revamped venue.

The pre-match entertainment – five drummers thundering out beats accompanied by green-clothed warriors on stilts, massive Macnas Parade style prop-forward caricatures in Connacht jerseys, scores of youngsters holding two huge flags of both clubs, and of course Eddie the Eagle – rose in a crescendo until the climax, a firework display that greeted the Connacht team’s arrival on field.

Free Connacht flags widely distributed throughout the ground ensured an ocean of green – and a deafening roar – awaited them.

It was goose bump-inducing, lump-in-the-throat stuff. That feeling didn’t last long though.

True, a steal by Mike McCarthy on Toulouse’s first line-out, and two Gavin Duffy kicks to either corner for territory, pinning the visitors back early on, dared the Connacht crowd to dream, but it wasn’t long before Toulouse asserted dominance with a clinical professionalism.

The star-studded French champions fielded an international- standard outfit that was laced with quality and within the blink of an eye, they were 9-0 to the good, thanks to the boot of Lionel Beauxis, who kicked a further 12 points before the night ended to deservedly take the man-of-the-match accolade.

Toulouse approached ruck time with a ferociousness previously not experienced by this Connacht outfit; they attacked with frightening speed on the counter attack from turnovers, and brought an awesome offloading game. Their defence was watertight, scarcely missing a tackle.

They held their own at lineout, but Connacht were bullied and beaten up at scrum time, completely annihilated by the power and brawn of the French pack, although ironically it was an attacking scrum that led to a Connacht penalty try, which came when the match was over as a contest but was just reward for the home side’s commitment and graft and for not lying down.

The floodgates never opened. Despite dodging bullets all evening, Connacht denied the visitors a four-try bonus point, which under the circumstances was an achievement in itself. A final score of 36-10 was no disgrace.

The crowd responded to that tireless effort chanting ‘Connacht, Connacht’ and singing The Fields of Athenry, but perhaps the odd rendition of ‘Que Sera, Sera . . . Whatever will be will be’, summed up the mood.

No fairytale result but what a special, memorable occasion. The West’s awake, indeed.

We could get used to this.

For a full match report see this week's Sentinel and get more reaction and analysis in the Tribune on Thursday