Connacht Rugby's season is not getting any easier, but a whole lot tougher.
Back-to-back Champions Cup fixtures against Leinster are looming, but the most immediate and pressing is Saturday's URC round 14 game against the same opposition at the Sportsground (7.35pm ).
Leinster currently sit top; Connacht in 10th place - and with Andy Friend's men having dropped from the top eight, there is now a real sense of urgency to get their campaign back on track, following their unexpected 56-8 trouncing away to Edinburgh.
Now Connacht know there is little wriggle room - at least four wins from five is a must to have a shot, admits the Connacht coach, and "if we can win five, it makes life easier for ourselves, but every game is a grand final now".
Club captain Jarrad Butler echoes those thoughts, saying: "Right now we've put ourselves under pressure with the URC.
"We said before we started the last block - three games ago - that as far as the URC went, we needed six from eight. We went on a good run, won the first two, then we had that last game against Edinburgh, so we've put ourselves in the position where we realistically need to win four to have a shot at the play-offs.
"We know that is the case, but all we can do is focus on one game at a time - and this one is the most important. Thankfully for us, it's at the Sportsground so support will be immense."
A full house is expected at the venue on Saturday for this most vital first of three with Leinster - one which the home side needs more than their counterparts.
Both sides will be missing internationals, with Connacht internationals Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen and Finlay Bealham unavailable. Jack Carty and Dave Heffernan will be available, while Gavin Thornbury, who had been sidelined for a season, has recovered from shoulder surgery. Still sidelined are hooker Shane Delahunt, whose season has ended following hamstring surgery, wing Alex Wootton (foot injury ), prop Tietie Tuimauga (calf ), and Dylan Tierney Martin (hamstring ).
Following Leinster at the Sportsground, Connacht then face some tough away trips, to Benetton, currently just one win behind Connacht and with a game in hand; against the Lions and the Sharks, both in South Africa; and then against Zebre in Parma. In between Connacht must face Leinster again, both home and away, in the Champions Cup play-offs - somewhat "bizarre" says Butler.
"Playing any team three times in four weeks is pretty bizarre. I haven't been in a situation like that before, but the other two, the Champions Cup, we haven't started to focus on those."
All the focus is on Saturday, and trying to put behind them an "embarassing"loss to Edinburgh - their worst of the season since a 22-point loss to Glasgow in January.
"We've put ourselves in a position like that on a couple of occasions. When we are not 100 per cent, it makes a big difference, and we do not want it to happen again and we won't let it happen again."
"We've parked that game, but we take the lessons forward because it has happened too many times. When we look back and think 'jeez, we let them dictate the game and went away from our key principles', we don't want to be dwelling on it, but learning those lessons."
Butler, who recently signed a two-year contract extension to remain in the west, having "fallen in love with the city", says while other teams were catching up on Covid-postponed fixtures, Connacht enjoyed a week without competitive action - "a full week of good field sessions that we don't usually get rolling into a game", he says. "It's put us in a good place rolling into this week.
Both sides will be missing internationals, with Connacht internationals Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen and Finlay Bealham unavailable. Jack Carty and Dave Heffernan will be available, while Gavin Thornbury, who had been sidelined for a season, has recovered from shoulder surgery. Still sidelined are hooker Shane Delahunt, whose season has ended following hamstring surgery, wing Alex Wootton (foot injury ), prop Tietie Tuimauga (calf ), and Dylan Tierney Martin (hamstring ).
More good news on the recruitment front is a real boost for the Sportsground followers this week. Irish qualified Byron Ralston (21 ) joins from the Western Force - an "athletic" player who can play on the wing or centre. He joins David Hawkshaw (centre/outhalf ), Adam Byrne (wing ) and Peter Dooley (prop ) from Leinster, and New Zealander Shamus Hurley Langton (backrow ).
