Connacht will travel to Northampton this weekend for their European Challenge Cup Quarter Final on Saturday at 3:00pm in high spirits after the 39-17 drubbing of the Dragons last Friday.
That bonus point victory has incredibly reopened the door ever so slightly in their bid to avoid last place in the league table for another season but, more importantly, for the moment ignited some confidence in the camp ahead of this weekend’s monumental challenge.
The last time Connacht made it to the last four of this competition was 2005 when a second leg hammering by Sale put paid to their efforts. One year previously Connacht were more threatening missing out on a final place late on thanks to a try from Harlequins’ Will Greenwood in the semi final second leg at the Sportsground.
Since then only a quarter final place has been achieved, with Newcastle toppling visiting Connacht 23-3 in the one off quarter final in 2006. The last two seasons saw Connacht miss out on qualification. If nothing else, supporters of the western province will just be glad to be back in the shake up.
Their qualifying group might well have been relatively easy, with Dax offering little challenge home or away and Rovigo offering less, but Connacht got the job done professionally, especially on their travels and earned a spot in the last eight. The task in front of them, however, is a formidable one.
Northampton rarely do home defeats. Franklin’s Gardens will likely have a crowd of well over 10,000 on Saturday and it could well turn out to be the biggest crowd Connacht have ever played in front of. A daunting task, but one which young Connacht stars such as Andrew Browne, Ronan Loughney and Ian Keatley will no doubt relish.
The Saints have lost just once at home this season, toppled by Newcastle last month, and while they are not a team of many big names they have their fair share, with Ben Foden at full back one of the stories of the season, Bruce Reihana a genuine threat on the wing and Ewan Murray a huge threat at tight head.
Johnny O’Connor and John Muldoon in the back row will relish a shot at the Northampton Irish duo of Roger Wilson and Neil Best, and Andrew Browne and Andrew Farley might well have an edge in the second row.
For Connacht to repeat the feat of the Warren Gatland led 1998 Connacht side that stunned the Saints to win 20-15 and qualify for the quarter finals, they will need a hell of a lot to go right at the weekend. Niva Ta’auso and Gavin Duffy may provide the spark out wide while Ian Keatley has hit some form.
At scrum half Conor O’Loughlin is flying and was a crucial component in the side that hammered the Dragons last week. Up front Connacht may get the upper hand in the back row and their impressive lineout will provide a platform. Scrums, however, could be an issue and the defence will be tested to the full as Connacht will spend most of the time on the back foot.
Connacht still have four Magners League games remaining and trail the Dragons by six and Ulster by eight in the table, but still have to travel to the former and entertain the latter in the remaining fixtures so, incredibly, there is still much to play for in the league despite their struggles this year. In truth, though, if the province really is to capture the imagination of the sporting public out west they will need a major victory to grab the headlines. This is their chance but it might be asking too much.
