A refocused Connacht will return to action on Saturday now needing to contentrate all efforts on the Magners League. While their European ambitions have been dashed for another year against an Engish outfit, they will face a Munster side in Thomond Park (7.30pm ) that is now on course for another Heineken Cup crown.
Just a few months ago Connacht recorded an historic 12 -6 win over Munster in the Galway Sportsground - their first at home in 29 years. That sparked great hopes that Connacht had turned a corner in their ambitions to play Heineken Cup rugby. That they stuttered at home against Cardiff and Llanelli has seen then rooted to the bottom of the table - still some six points off the Dragons - when they could have been in a stronger position. Yet it is still numerically possible to overhaul both the Dragons and Ulster, and that will ensure Connacht travel to Thomond Park with considerable ambition.
Coach Michael Bradley will of course have some concerns, particularly given that Connacht face both the Dragons and Ulster in their following two outings. And with a host of injuries, he is unlikely to risk players who are not fully fit. Sean Cronin, Ray Ofisa, and Keith Matthews are casualties from last weekend’s Euro tie with Northamption, while Robbie Morris and Mike McCarthy are still out of action. David Gannon, Mike Swift, and Colm Rigney remain possible options in a stretched backrow alongside Johnny O’Connor and captain John Muldoon, while Adrian Flavin and Ronan Loughney (if fit ) can join Brett Wilkinson in the front row. In the backs both Troy Nathan and Mel Deane are possible replacements for Matthews who is not expected to recover in time for Saturday’s tie.
A key to Connacht’s win over Munster in December was the halfback pairing of Frank Murphy and Ian Keatley. Murphy was at the heart of a magnficent Connacht defensive effort on t hat famous night, aided and abetted by Muldoon and Ofisa. While it was a game that never featured high on the elegance stakes despite the ideal weather conditions, it was all about defence and pressure, and Bradley will be looking for a repeat performance.
Last Saturday with a little over 10 minutes remaining Connacht trailed by just five points and through Ray Ofisa, they had scored the game’s only try.
“I suppose while we were very happy with the way we performed in attack, we have to be very disappointed with the overall result. After an hour of the game we had seven line breaks, they had only one, but they did have the competitive advantage over us in the scrum, which was a key issue.”
Despite their problems in the scrum, Connacht somehow managed to edge in front 15 minutes into the second half. Gavin Duffy, who was in outstanding form, cut through the Saints’ midfield defence on a superb line and the ever-reliable Ofisa was on his shoulder to take a deft pass and score to the left of the posts. Ian Keatley converted for a 13-12 lead.
“I think they looked a little bit caught in the headlights at that stage. They didn’t really know what to do. Our strategy was working in terms of defence. We took a couple of players out of the lineout and put them into midfield to close them down and that left them with nowhere to go.”
“We were on the wrong end of a a critical decision by the referee after the try when he sin-binned Johnny O’Connor. That worked against us. By default the scrum had been sorted out on the basis of injuries and their competitive advantage had gone and then within a minute Johnny got binned, so they regained that advantage.”
Ultimately, however, it was a moment of sheer class from the Northampton backline, involving James Downey, Stephen Myler and Paul Diggin, that changed the game. The interchange unlocked a seemingly watertight Connacht defence and forced Gavin Duffy into a last ditch tackle, where he played the ball on the ground in desperation. From the resulting penalty the Saints trundled towards the line before Neil Best got over for his side’s opening try on 70 minutes.
“We got on the wrong side of the referee and in any other match where that happened this year we have lost, so there were fault lines in our performance and we paid dearly for them.”
Northampton Saints: B Foden; P Diggin, J Ansbro, J Downey, B Reihana; S Myler, L Dickson; S Tongauiha, D Hartley, E Murray, I Fernandez Lobbe, J Kruger, N Best, J Gray, R Wilson.Replacements: C Lawes for Lobbe, 50 mins; M Easter for Murray, 63 mins; A Dickens for Dickson, 70 mins; B Sharman for Hartley, 71 mins; C Mayor for Downey, 71 mins; T Smith for Tongauiha, 75 mins; B Everitt for Myler, 76 mins.
Connacht: G Duffy; F Carr, K Mathews, N Ta'auso, L Bibo; I Keatley, F Murphy; B Wilkinson, S Cronin, R Loughney, A Browne, A Farley, J Muldoon, J O'Connor, R Ofisa.Replacements: T Nathan for Matthews, 23 mins; B McGovern for Loughney, 34 mins; M Swift for Ofisa, 60 mins; C Rigney for McGovern, 62 mins; A Flavin for Cronin, 73 mins; C O’Loughlin for Murphy, 76 mins; A Dunne for Ta’auso, 76 mins.
Referee: R Poite (France ).
