Celtic League/ Dragons 24 Connacht 19: Statistics sometimes blind rather than reveal. After 20 matches, the Celtic League table will show Connacht finished with seven wins, one draw, and 11 losses - their Heineken European Cup play-off dreams blown away by the Dragons' firepower in a Rodney Parade romp.
They will not reveal that Connacht's seasonal ambitions came within a converted try of success, or that of the 11 games they lost, all but two were by 10 points or less, and five of them by seven or less - a converted try.
"An intercept try by Leinster," mused Connacht coach Michael Bradley, "but we are very happy to have been in this position, even if we are disappointed we did not take our opportunities.
"After 20 matches it was all down to the wire in this last match. Yet we had enough chances prior to that - Cardiff, Llanelli, and Leinster.
"No matter what you say, we fell short, and the harsh reality is that we're not going to Italy, which would have been great for Connacht and Irish rugby."
The Dragons were not crowing either. Their four tries, which contributed to a hugely entertaining game for the 4,500 fans, ensured them a home quarter-final in the Celtic Cup, but they were not best pleased to provide arch-rivals Cardiff a lifeline to the European Cup - a year after the Blues received a reprieve with the demise of the Celtic Warriors.
Saturday evening's decider pretty much encapsulated much of Connacht's season: a poor start, a couple of crucial turnovers, and an incredible fightback that could have produced a fairytale end.
"Turnover ball is very dangerous against top-quality opposition and although we probably had more line breaks than the Dragons, they were able to take advantage of turnovers," said Bradley.
"We were playing stronger sides this time round and although we strengthened our squad this year, it did not come to pass. We now have to find new talent, bring it into the squad and try again next year."
Having conceded a try to skipper Jason Forster within a minute, Connacht took some time to recover, exacerbated by an unusually poor lineout in that opening 20 minutes.
It got worse. Within eight minutes they had lost Matt Lacey with an injured shoulder after he was brought down yards from the line when supporting James Downey's blistering break. On 23 minutes Peter Bracken was stretchered off with a back injury, and he was soon followed by hooker John Fogarty.
It took heroic defence to keep the Dragons out, with Percy Montgomerie and fullback Kevin Morgan pulling the Dragons' strings out wide. But Connacht claimed some territory through penalties and made it work for them before scrumhalf Chris Keane, with a darting blindside run, found support from number eight John O'Sullivan, who powered over.
Keane inspired another expansive move from a quick lineout and although Darren Yapp's 30-metre sprint was eventually halted, Connacht were well in contention.
A try either side of the break proved crucial, however: a well-taken effort from Ben Breeze and another from Morgan as Connacht struggled to contain the bigger Welsh forwards.
Yet when Connacht did win first-phase ball they produced some stylish rugby, and one sensed if they could find that extra measure in support play, a touch more finesse in their handling, and a pound more in muscle, then the likes of Downey, Paul Warwick and Matt Mostyn could have made the breakthrough.
They did, but it was not until Connacht had conceded a fourth try when Morgan burst through from deep to take Ceri Sweeney's pass, stretching the lead to 24-7.
It was then Connacht staged their remarkable rally, replacement hooker Bernard Jackman touching down from Mike Walls's chip and Brendan O'Connor finishing a move fashioned from inside their own 22.
Within a whisker of scoring a fourth try, with backrow forward Michael Carroll at tighthead prop and Eric Elwood making his 50th appearance in the Celtic League as a replacement in the backrow, Connacht tried to work the miracle. They were stopped ultimately by Scottish referee David Changleng for crossing.
"It's disappointing because of all the hard work that has gone into the Celtic League," said Bradley. "But we have a huge amount of energy invested in the Challenge Cup and now we take a crack at the favourites."
They must do that next Sunday in Sale without Lacey and possibly Bracken, who join a growing injury list in a squad that is battered and disappointed but still fighting.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 1 min: J Forster try 5- 0; 35m: J O'Sullivan try, P Warwick con 5-7; 40+5: B Breeze try, C Sweeney con 12-7; half-time: 12-7; 45m: K Morgan try 17-7; 62m: Morgan try, Sweeney con 24-7; 77m: B Jackman try 24-12; 80m: B O'Connor try, Warwick con 24-19.
DRAGONS: K Morgan; G Wyatt, P Montgomery, J Bryant, B Breeze; C Sweeney, G Baber; R Snow, S Jones, C Anthony, I Gough, L Charteris, J Ringer, J Forster (capt), M Owen. Replacements: A Black for Snow, R Thomas for Anthony (both 61 mins); R Oakley for Owen (64 mins); P Sidoli for Gough (69 mins); S Tuipulotu for Montgomery (73 mins); C Warlow for Sweeney (78 mins); J Richards for Jones (76 mins).
CONNACHT: M Mostyn; C McPhillips, M McHugh, J Downey, D Yapp; P Warwick, C Keane; R Hogan, J Fogarty, P Bracken, C Short, A Farley (capt), B O'Connor, M Lacey, J O'Sullivan. Replacements: M Swift for Lacey (8 mins); S Knoop for Bracken (23 mins); B Jackman for Fogarty (32 mins); M Walls for Keane (half-time); M Carroll for Hogan (65 mins); D Slemen for Yapp (65 mins); E Elwood for O'Connor (83 mins).
Referee: D Changleng (Scotland).
