Three on the bounce for Connacht as Parks puts the boot into Zebre

Connacht 23Zebre 19

Rob Murphy at the Sportsground

Three in a row. When it comes to Celtic League rugby competitions, or the more recent incarnation with the two Italian sides, you don’t get to say that all too often from a Connacht point of view. It’s hardly a sea change but you could sense the positivity emanating from the stands at the final whistle last Friday.

Connacht supporters are a patient tribe, they know the drill and are in this for the long haul but they want to see progress. They are willing to wait, as long as there is a clearly identifiable plan and with young side populated by academy graduates and backboned by dedicated stalwarts, they can see the blueprint in full colour at the moment.

It’s easy for them to look at a side like Glasgow or Exeter, on similar budgets with broadly similar support base and feel as though their side might be missing a beat, but there is an acknowledgement that replicating the progress of those sides will take time.

The next five games are about laying down a marker. Connacht have seven wins on the board, that matches what they achieved last season and the year before, everything from here on can go down as progress but one or two wins might not feel like that as the thirst buds awaken.

In-house, the next five games are about bookending the Eric Elwood era. They are about underlining the progress made in player development and turning that into something more tangible on the field in terms of league position and wins, having won in Cardiff two weeks ago, a gloomy outlook has been transformed.

Friday’s victory over Zebre was hardly champagne stuff and they made hard work of it, but this was the fourth meeting between the sides this year and the familiarity between both sides meant a battle of wits and endurance was inevitable. Having said that, the first 40 minutes were fairly entertaining with three scintillating tries underlining as much.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.