UK election is turning out to be a mighty lot of fun

FRIDAY night in the Sportsground. It is cold and wet, but we’re thankful to be out of the house after the cold spell put a temporary halt to any kind of socialising. The driving mist whips in over the stand, coming full circle to rest on your brow, but the 2,000 hardy souls don’t care – it’s great to have a game to go to.

Montpellier are in town for the Amlin Challenge Cup, and avoiding defeat is a must for Connacht in their bid to ensure qualification for the quarter-finals of the competition.

The visitors have left their French internationals Francois Trinh-Duc and Fulgence Ouedraogo at home, but a win will see them leapfrog Connacht to take top spot, and there is a sense of nervousness in the air.

The mini rugby stars of the future who will entertain us at half-time trot down the dog track. The Gaeltacht Rugby contingent in the group, aged between seven and ten, stop and turn to face the stand and treat the crowd to a Carraroe version of the Haka.

A huge cheer goes up, which increases in volume when John Muldoon leads the men in green onto the pitch. Connacht win the toss and opt to play into the conditions in the first-half, and Montpellier park the bus in the Connacht half for the opening 40 minutes.

The visitors ruck and maul, push and probe, but all they have to show for their efforts is three measly points as Connacht’s defence is the only thing that refuses to buckle with the weather. It was not pretty, but anyone looking for a beauty contest was in the wrong place to start with.

Having weathered the storm, in every way, in the first half, Connacht come out with teeth bared for the second period. It is their turn to dominate territory, but unlike their opponents, they make it count.

The life of a back, and particularly a winger, can be a lonely one in conditions like Friday night, but Liam Bibo and Fionn Carr stay switched on mentally and are rewarded with a try apiece as Connacht crush the hopes of the French to seal top spot in the group and progress to the quarter finals.

There was a decent crowd on Friday night, but you won’t be able to swing a tackle bag for fear of knocking a ground plan out of the hands of day-trippers when one of Europe’s big guns rolls into town in April. European aristocrats Leicester, the Exiles of London Irish or Jonny Wilkinson and his Toulon team are all potential opponents in the knockout stages. The guys and gals of Gaeltacht Rugby will be busy honing their routine for the big day.

For a full report on the match see page 31 of this week’s Sentinel