13-man Connacht die with their boots on

Connacht 10

ASSESS this anyway you like but the result in Ravenhill on Friday was never going to be significant in the bigger picture. A win would have been historic, momentum affirming and another springboard, yet the defeat can honestly be described as a blip, a small detour ahead of the defining part of the journey.

Connacht lost top spot in the Pro12 at the weekend, Leinster’s unimpressive home win over Munster proved enough to help them draw level on points and then creep ahead of the Westerners by virtue of having won an extra game. Pat Lam and co won’t be unduly worried by all that. Top two aspirations remain very much on track.

In a game riddled with errors but interspersed with moments of genuine quality, Ulster emerged with a crucial home win based on some stern defence and aided couple of impressive tries in either half  from Rory Best and Craig Gilroy –  they built up an 18-3 lead but were kept scoreless in the last 35 minutes as a resilient Connacht refused to wilt.

Connacht’s goal line stand with 13 men on the field during the final ten minutes was a talking point in the aftermath. It yielded nothing in terms of points but spoke volumes in terms of character and commitment.

Of course, those in the stadium could see that it also spoke to Ulster’s overwhelming lack of ambition to use their backline when they had such a numerical advantage and the uninspiring nature of their game plan throughout the evening. It seems that Ulster are dealing with the same poverty of ambition that has swept through Leinster and Munster.

Yet ambition in how you play is all well and good, and Connacht certainly have that over their provincial rivals, but it loses its allure if the play is littered with handling errors and poor decision making and for the last couple of weeks that has very much being the case.

On 16 occasions during this contest, Connacht coughed up possession through their own errors. Misfiring lineouts, loose passes, ill discipline at the breakdown and a general lack of accuracy compounded matters. This was a game where the better team on the night won but one where the visitors went home fully aware of how they managed to lose the contest too.

As it stands, there are four games left this season with a possibility of an additional four more, injuries are taking their toll, the fluidity of their attack play is starting to show signs of disruption and yet the self belief and conviction is unwavering. Sheer grit and determination saw them home against Leinster, it kept Ulster from ever being comfortable too.

The European adventure is a perfect distraction right now, far from needing a break, Lam is no doubt relishing a change of tack. The Grenoble match and the Challenge Cup itself is providing Connacht with a real opportunity to break new ground, but on a more basic level the extra game will allow the Westerners iron out some problem areas ahead of home tie with a Munster side that will be desperate to the point of frantic when the arrive in Galway.

Full coverage in this week's Connacht Tribune.