An interesting challenge awaits Connacht this evening when they come up against Michael Bradley’s Edinburgh at Murrayfield (7.30pm ). Connacht travel to the Scottish capital with the momentum of two wins on the trot, but they will come up against an Edinburgh outfit determined to get their first points in this season’s RaboDirect Pro 12. Connacht have never beaten Edinburgh at home, and coach Eric Elwood knows Bradley has the advantage in this encounter.
“There is no doubt Michael knows us so well, we do not know them as well. He knows the lads inside out as he knows me. He knows what we are capable of and he knows our weaknesses and will try to exploit those. I think he might have a couple of surprises up his sleeves, but we would like to think we might have a couple of our own,” Elwood says. “At the end of the day it’s four points available. They will be under pressure, but we have never won in Murrayfield and we go there trying to rectify that.” Several players were rested earlier in the week after suffering knocks and bruises, but Elwood is unlikely to make changes to a winning side if all are available. Johnny O’Connor, who missed last week’s match due to injury, will return to the squad, while Frank Murphy is recovering from a groin strain from last weekend’s match against the Scarlets.
It has been the perfect start for Connacht this season - the first time the province has won the opening two rounds - but tomorrow they face a different challenge against a team that enjoys utilising the space of Murrayfield, is strong on the counter-attack, and will be keen to get their first win under Bradley’s stewardship.
“The key for us is to get amongst them at the breakdown because they compete very well there, and certainly when we have the ball we will need to hold onto it. The style they play means we must improve defensively from last week, because if you give Edinburgh time and space, they will punish you.”
Last Saturday Connacht did just enough to win their opening home fixture, but they will not find Edinburgh at Murrayfield as accommodating. While Connacht’s set piece struggled in the first half, they upped the tempo in the second half to take the lead. "It was big day for Connacht Rugby,” said Elwood. “ We knew we were under pressure because it was a big occasion with the opening of the new terrace - there was a lot at stake. "Maybe the pressure got to us. We lacked a bit of fluency in defence, we slipped off tackles, and didn't play with the usual buzz. But at half time we were still in the game, and thankfully key personnel got their hands on the ball, started to carry and give us go forward ball, and once we got field position, thankfully we got the penalty.
Mayo sides getting to grips with early season Junior league action
The three Mayo sides in Division 1A of the Connacht Junior League will go into third round action with Ballina leading the way amongst the local sides. On Saturday evening at 6.30pm Castlebar will be looking for their first win of the season when they take on Tuam at home. Castlebar have failed to pick up a single point so far this season going down to both Monivea and OLBC in their opening two games. On Sunday Westport will host Galwegians in Carrowholly and like Castlebar are also looking for their first win. Westport do have three points on the board thanks to a draw on the opening day against OLBC and a bonus point they have picked up. Last weekend the came out on the wrong side of a low scoring Mayo derby away to Ballina. The north Mayo men are currently in second place in the table with two wins from two and are one point behind leaders Monivea and on Sunday travel to third placed OLBC looking to keep up their good start to the season
