Connacht going for broke in crucial away clash against struggling Treviso
CONNACHT took a few days’ off following their history-making win over Munster a fortnight ago. They deserved the break, having achieved their goal of a top-six finish with two rounds of the Pro 12 league still to play.
For the first-time ever, the province qualified for Champions Cup rugby off their own steam, something they have been striving to achieve for over a decade.
But that feat is now parked: when players returned to training at the tail end of last week, they recalibrated the season’s objective.
At the first group meeting, Head Coach Pat Lam asked each member of the squad and management to write down their new target.
The response was unanimous. “Everyone’s big goal now is to win the Pro 12,” the boss said.
That he said this and nobody laughed, just shows how far Connacht have come. From mediocre mid-tablers to title contenders within a few years.
“To be able to re-set with two games to go, is great,” said Lam. “I don’t like setting unrealistic goals and I don’t like setting the goal for the team. I think it has to be a collective. And the one thing that was pretty unanimous right across the group is there was a lot of belief, based on what we’ve done so far, that it is realistic to say we can try and win the Pro 12. As long as it’s based on stepping it up another level.”
That last part is key. Connacht have been great this season but in order to achieve their new target, they must win at least three of the next four games (including semi-final and final). And to do that they have to ratchet performance levels up.
Lam described the next five weeks as a ‘mini-season’, in which his charges must strive for even greater heights.“We’ve got to take everything up to another level. The way we prepare, the way we train,” he said.
Reaching a semi-final is almost attained already but in order to give themselves the best opportunity to make a final, history indicates Connacht needs to secure a home semi-final. And for that to happen, they require at least one win from their remaining two matches away to Treviso and home to Glasgow.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.