THERE HAS been plenty of soul searching in Galway this week. Defeat at home to Treviso will do that.
Nobody in their right mind could question the passion and endeavour Eric Elwood and his players bring to every challenge they must face. Especially home-grown men like Gavin Duffy and John Muldoon. Eight defeats in a row have shown that this is patently not enough any more.
The eyes of European rugby will glance their way once more this afternoon and that should elicit a stirring reaction. But without a substantially improved technical display this Heineken Cup adventure will descend further into quagmire.
“The lads don’t need me to tell them,” said Elwood. “They took hold of the meeting themselves after the [Treviso] match. They know it was an opportunity missed. They recognise what needs to be done. We know we have to dig ourselves out of this hole.”
Plenty of tough questions have been asked. Everyone associated with the province feared the worst when they lost a tighthead prop (Jamie Hagan), an international hooker (Seán Cronin), a genuine outhalf prospect (Ian Keatley) and rapid try-scoring winger (Fionn Carr) last season.
Tempted away by Leinster and Munster, all four players are currently struggling to make match day squads. None of them are starting this weekend. The main problem for Connacht is they were not adequately replaced.
Why?
Elwood, this week, said that was not a question he could answer. Go ask Gerry Kelly, he said. The Connacht Branch chief executive was up talking to the IRFU. No answer is expected.
On the field, Connacht must halt a miserable losing streak. The visit of Italian opposition provided the perfect tonic. They failed to take that opportunity so now the sight of an English team must awaken a clinical performance from the western province.
Elwood has made just one change in personnel, that’s arguably because he is down to the bare bones of a 29-man squad – or maybe he is hoping the trust he shows in the team will draw out a big performance.
Either way, it is a welcome switch as Irish international lock Mike McCarthy returns from suspension to cover for the injured Michael Swift.
Gloucester come without their much maligned England centre Mike Tindall but Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu’s imminent tweet about playing at the Sportsground is eagerly anticipated. The Samoan number 12 is also a decent player.
Brian Redpath’s team are on a similarly depressing run of form, by their standards. Eighth in the Premiership table, they are unlikely to make any impact on the European stage having already lost away to Toulouse and at home to Harlequins. The quotes from Redpath could easily be drawn out of Elwood’s mouth.
“I’ve been pretty honest with it as a lot of our downfalls have been our own doing. It’s quite hard to accept that we are making the basic mistakes week in, week out and it’s not necessarily the same individuals every time. We need to knuckle down – the Heineken Cup is never easy.”
Defeat in Newcastle, a similarly isolated rugby outpost to Galway, has them extremely keen to avoid a fifth straight loss. That they arrive with this attitude doesn’t bode well for the hosts.
A windy, dirty day may be needed to secure victory. But it sounds like Gloucester are prepared for whatever is thrown at them. They have enough power forwards like Brett Deacon, Jim Hamilton and Luke Narraway to match Muldoon, McCarthy and the rest.
Olly Morgan, Charlie Sharples and James Simpson Daniel also bring a genuine cutting edge out wide.
Connacht historically react to a disappointing result with a passionate display. There has been the occasional win in France to keep the wolves from the door.
But can former Ulster outhalf Niall O’Connor guide them to victory?
What about the young Leinster-reared midfield pairing of David McSharry and Kyle Tonetti? They are undoubtedly talented, but will they get enough opportunities?
Can the set-piece provide an attacking platform?
Can the few chances they create be taken?
A one-off rot-stopping win is possible but can it be repeated on the return leg next weekend?
Too many questions unfortunately.
CONNACHT:G Duffy (capt); M McCrea, K Tonetti, D McSharry, T O'Halloran; N O'Connor, F Murphy; B Wilkinson, E Reynecke, R Loughney, M McCarthy, G Naoupu, D Gannon, J Muldoon, R Ofisa. Replacements: A Flavin, D Buckley, R Ah You, M Kearney, E McKeon, P O'Donohoe, M Jarvis, F Vainikolo.
GLOUCESTER: O Morgan; C Sharples, H Trinder, E Fuimaono-Sapolu, J Simpson-Daniel; F Burns, R Lawson; N Wood, S Lawson, D Chistolini, P Buxton, J Hamilton, B Deacon, A Hazell, L Narraway. Replacements: M Cortese, D Murphy, R Harden, W James, A Qera, N Runciman, T Taylor, J May.
Referee: Neil Paterson (Scotland).
Previous Heineken Cup meetings: None.
Results so far:Harlequins 25, Connacht 17; Connacht 10, Toulouse 36. Toulouse 21, Gloucester 17; Gloucester 9, Harlequins 29.
Leading points scorers – Connacht: M Nikora 10; Gloucester: F Burns 9.
Leading try scorers – Connacht:T O'Halloran, G Duffy 1; Gloucester: H Trinder, C Sharples 1. Odds: Connacht (+5) 10/11; Gloucester (-5) 10/11 (Paddy Power).
Verdict: Gloucester win.
