It must have left many of the 4,703 pondering another spring of discontent and another pit end of the season with nothing to play for.
This was the game to turn things around, the Ian Keatley/Darragh Fanning chance with five minutes remaining was the opportunity to turn things around, to make a statement and Connacht’s out half botched it. No other way of putting it.
It wasn’t all down to one player of course, referee David Wilkinson also botched his big moment, he had a clear cut case for a penalty try when the wilting Munster pack dragged down the scrum as Connacht drove over the line on 80 minutes, he chose the safe option.
A fifth ranked defence in the league with just 15 tries conceded, a total of five losing bonus points (a record for a Connacht team in a season) and a scrum that is right up there with the best in the league will keep the hope alive for now but there is some discontent out there at the moment and their arguments are gathering legs.
The Positives
- 5th ranked defence just 15 tries conceded in ten games for an average 1.5 per game (last season Connacht conceded 53 in total for an average of 3 per game)
- Five losing bonus points, a record for Connacht in a full season never mind half a campaign.
- Attendances are up, an average of 3,308 for five Magners league games this season, in the corresponding five games last year, the average was 2655. That’s a 25% increase.
- The big crowd for the Ulster game earlier this season reflected a 1300 increase on last years Ulster game and can be directly attributed to the blistering start to the season. A winning team will attract the punters.
- Overall Points difference of just – 22.
- Young Irish players getting a chance to shine, eg Seaon Cronin, Jamie Hagen, Andrew Browne, Ian Keatley, Eoin Griffin and Darragh Fanning.
- A favourable schedule with home games against the Scarlets, Cardiff, Aironi, Treviso, Edinburgh and Glasgow all justifiable targets.
Monday once again demonstrated the limits of where that progress can go with the current squad. On the evidence of this game and recent performances, only one of the starting backline is making a strong case for a contract next season, that’s the irrepressible Keith Matthews who was a shinning light from kick off to the final three peeps of the whistle.
The rest are interchangeable with any number of players who have passed through the Connacht revolving doors in recent years and it’s time for one or two to awake from their slumber.
The aforementioned Keatley was excellent with the boot from placed kicks, kicking four from five but the running game which lit up Connacht hearts back in September against the Dragons has long since died. Lets hop he relocates his fire before he puts on the red of Munster rather than after.
Fionn Carr was an absolute shadow of his former self once again. He scored four tries in September and not a jot ever since. He’s now in the incredible position of preparing to join a Heineken Cup winning squad in the summer and struggling to retain his place on a mid level Challenge Cup team.
The Negatives
- Seven straight defeats
- Connacht are not even winning half their home games. The cliche about the Sportsground being a hard place to get a win rings hollow these days.
- Ranked second last in the Magners league in tries for with just 12 (av 1.2 per game) last year Connacht average (1.1) so not much improvement there
- 0 tries in four successive home games that’s 320 Sportsground minutes without a try.
- Eleven games were on a knife edge in the final ten minutes and Connacht have come out with victories in just two against Glasgow and Bayonne.
- Attendances will likely drop with the traditionally less attractive fixtures on the cards.
- No European rugby after January.
Upfront the scrum worked well with Rob Sweeney performing superbly against Munster’s big hope in kiwi Peter Borlase. The pack as a whole were not completely outplayed but the absence of an eight remains a huge problem. Ezra Taylor just doesn’t have the answers.
Connacht had their key injuries with John Muldoon, Gavin Duffy, Ray Ofisa and Brett Wilkinson but Munster came without a number of frontline internationals. What they did have though was experience, Alan Quinlan (before his nasty elbow injury) Peter Stringer, Ronan O’Gara and even Niall Ronan all played key rolls in helping their side over the line.
Stringer’s turnover under his posts in the closing stages encapsulated everything the 33 year old brings to his side. Young local stars like Ian Nagle and 20 year old Paddy Butler can thrive in such an environment and they did so here.
The story of the contest is simple, the first half was largely irrelevant in the big picture Connacht led 6-3 and by 60 minutes they led 12-6. All penalties (Connacht haven’t scored a try at home for four games now) with Munster having failed to even threaten the Connacht line.
The Munster try came ironically after they were repelled through multiple phases, briefly turned over, only for the ball to come loose and be hacked back into the opposing corner for Tom Gleeson to chase down and score. O’Gara struck the touchline conversion for the insult to Connacht’s injury as their claims of a knock on fell on deaf ears.
After a subsequent O’Gara drop goal stretched the lead to four, Connacht finished with a flurry. Keatley and Fanning were released not long after a stunning break by the tenacious Andrew Browne, the space was created in part by Johnny O’Connor’s quick hands in the build up but with one man to beat Keatley passed when he should have kept going and the opportunity was missed.
Fanning had a further chance soon after and seemed to be a fraction late in reacting but that one is debatable. A penalty followed, Ronan saw yellow and the Connacht scrum prepared to drive their opponents back towards Lough Atalia, they did so and only a desperate collapse stopped a certain try, Wilkinson was on cue to choke and offer a mere penalty.
Munster changed their replacement prop Ryan who left the field clutching a shoulder, Eric Elwood wasn’t convinced by the injury afterwards, Tony McGahan couldn’t have cared less and defended his injured loosehead who had been pummeled by Hagen. On came Du Preez again and Munster survived.
Alls fair in love and war and Munster do a lot more of the latter than the former in these encounters, Connacht heads hung on full time, they can blame the uncontrollables all they like but it was the controllables that let them down.
Four brutal lineouts in key positions throughout the eighty minutes, three golden opportunities lost and yet another game where composure took a back seat. We know the stats suggest otherwise and we know we’re close but it really does feel like this Connacht side doesn’t know how to win at the moment and there are no signs of that changing.