Connacht will need to get a return for their foray to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday (5.15pm ) when they face Ulster in the second of this season's interprovincials.
Andy Friend's side travel to Dublin for what is a "home match", while also understandably smarting after an undeserved two-point loss to Munster last weekend. Had they won, they would be heading to the capital just seven point adrift of league leaders Ulster, instead of 13.
Easy to feel hard done by, but now is the time Connacht need to produce another winning performance in what has become a game of provincial catch-up. All three Irish opponents lead the URC table without a defeat in the opening four rounds; Connacht, with just one win, lie in 11th place of the 16 teams.
While Dan McFarland's Ulster arrive at the Aviva with full points, Connacht must channel last weekend's frustration into a clinical victory.
Once again Connacht will look to pay a high tempo game, compared with the slow game against Munster - the slowest this season with only 32 minutes with ball in play, Friend says.
"First and foremost Ulster are the number one team in the competition at the moment with maximum points. They appear to have put a big focus on their maul which will test us, as well as their running game. We will have to be at our best to knock them off, but we are comfortable with our game, and if we keep the intensity we had in Thomond, it should be a very good contest."
Connacht will be without impressive flanker Cian Prendergast, who is awaiting results of an ankle scan, Oisin Dowling suffered a facial injury, and Leva Fifita is ruled out following a knee injury in training.
Last year Connacht produced a 26-20 win over Ulster, and with a projected 8,000 supporters in situ, Friend's side will need to make use of this opportunity in the Aviva.
However, Friend insists Connacht still need to be better to cope with situations like Saturday's 39th minute Chris Cloete try, which was secured despite Tadhg Beirne clearly having been ahead of Rory Scannell after his crossfield kick.
"The key message is we still need to be better. How could we have won the game regardless of everything else? We had opportunities and missed them. We were much better than we were against the Dragons, but that is now our standard, and how do we take that and build on it?"
Friend, while decidedly unhappy with the lack of a TMO, believes Connacht could have defended it better.
"Honestly, we felt there was a lot going on there. The kick had gone through, the ball knocked on, there was a jackal attempt, and a whole forward pack was in the defensive line and we didn't get our scanning right. Had we scanned better and reacted a little better, we could have solved it better ourselves, and we have to own that."
He says there was little else the players could have done without a captain's call anymore.
"You can clearly hear on the coms there was enough people asking for it to be looked at, and the message came back that it had been looked at, so there is not much else we can do after that."
It proved the turning point, with Connacht having posted two Jack Carty penalties to take a lead. Friend's side dominated play, and had been denied an earlier try when Tiernan O'Halloran, having fielded a high ball, was judged to have delivered a forward pass to Mack Hansen who had crossed. And with Bundee Aki back in the green of Connacht for the first time this season after his Lions' tour, there was an added bounce and hunger to the visitors' attacking play.
Nor were Connacht helped by a harsh yellow card to Sam Arnold before half-time, and when Cloete's try was not ruled out, the home side took a 7-6 lead into the break.
However, on 52 minutes Paul Boyle's superb dive over the top put his side into an 11-10 lead. When a collapsed maul gave Munster another penalty, Connacht replied through man of the match Jack Carty, blocking an attempted Casey kick to scored a converted try. Not to be though, two late Munster penalties - ironically when Connacht were pinged for offside - provided the home side with the final chance, hooker Diarmuid Barron found the line and Joey Carberry converted to sneak a two-point win on a evening to remember the late Munster powerhouse Anthony Foley on the fifth anniversary of his passing.
*Connacht fans wishing to travel to Dublin will able to avail of a late return train, which departs Heuston Station at 8.20pm, serving Athlone, Ballinasloe, Woodlawn, Athenry and Oranmore.
Munster: M Haley; A Conway, K Earls, R Scannell (D Goggin 57 HIA ), S Zebo; J Carbery, C Casey; D Kilcoyne (J Loughman 55 ), N Scannell (D Barron 55 ), J Ryan (S Archer 55 ); J Kleyn (F Wycherley 60 ), T Beirne; P O’Mahony (capt ), C Cloete (J O’Donoghue 68 ), G Coombes.
Connacht: T O’Halloran; J Porch, S Arnold, B Aki, M Hansen; J Carty (capt ), C Blade (K Marmion 61 ); M Burke (G McGrath 74 ), D Heffernan (S Delahunt 59 ), F Bealham (J Aungier 64 ); N Murray, U Dillane (E Masterson 74 ); C Prendergast (J Butler 47 ), C Oliver, P Boyle (A Papali’I 59 ).
Referee: C Busby (IRFU )
