URC Rd 2: Connacht 36 Sharks 30
The joke in the temporary home dressingroom behind the demolished stand which once housed the Clan Terrace was that whatever they said at half-time, Connacht should perhaps say it before kick-off next week.
Connacht actually started quite well and deservedly struck inside four minutes through the first two well-worked catch-and-drive tries for Dave Heffernan before errors began, and as head coach Pete Wilkins admitted “snowballed”.
The Sharks’ classically South African defence – fast line speed, thunderous body hits, often after the ball was released and counter-rucking – also began imposing itself, as did their hard straight carriers.
Andre Esterhuizen had two thunderous finishes and the ex-Munster man Gerbrandt Grobler was awarded a contentious try despite a clear out on Ben Murphy ahead of the ball by James Venter.
Siya Masuku converted all three and Jordan Hendrikse emulated his 60-metre match-winning penalty in last week’s Currie Cup final with three-pointers from 50 and 63 metres. On an idyllic, still night, it was as if Galway was at altitude.
From 7-0 ahead to 27-7 adrift, the home team needed half-time, and the reduced capacity crowd of 4,217 were equally deflated.
“Half-time was about resetting and talking about those errors,” said Wilkins. “And it really was about mentally casting them off and saying we’re not a team that can mope, we’re not a team that can carry those errors into the second-half. ‘We’ve just got to go for it and be positive’.
“There will always be errors in a game. There were last week against Munster, ‘but it’s about what we do next.’ In fairness to the lads they took that on board and I was really proud of their effort in the second half in particular.”
In responding to those 27 Sharks points with a 29-point barrage of their own before Masuku salvaged a losing bonus point with the last kick of the game, Connacht scored another four second-half tries.
With Josh Ioane having failed an HIA, Cathal Forde moved from inside centre to outhalf, the position he played for Corinthians when he was the AIL 2B player of the season in 2021-22. He swiftly chipped for the ever-alert Mack Hansen to gather before taking the pass to score himself and that lit the fuse.
Underlining his value, Forde brought a composure and calmness to Connacht’s game while also shoring up the midfield alongside interval replacement David Hawshaw, as Heffernan’s second, Shane Jennings’s intercept try and a close-range finish by Oisín Dowling turned the game on its head.
“Scoring so soon after half-time was important, mentally for the Sharks to see the scoreboard creep that little bit closer and for us to feel our half-time intent was starting to manifest itself,” said Wilkins. “I was proud of some of the rugby we played but also the mental turnaround.
“I thought Fordey did a magnificent job in all aspects of the game. He ran at the right times, kicked at the right times and his general play made us tick, and he picked up where Josh left off.”
Connacht’s defence in the second half was equally significant. Niall Murray led the way with 16 tackles to augment his significant defensive lineout skills, with Cian Prendergast, Josh Murphy and Denis Buckley, while the 6-2 split worked a treat as Murray and replacements Dylan Tierney-Martin and Paul Boyle won huge turnover penalties in the last quarter.
Wilkins said the defensive transformation was more mental than technical.
“When errors snowball you can almost start to anticipate the next negative moment. Very often that comes to fruition and you lose a heck of amount of energy. Body language goes, communication goes, that speed to set ahead of the opposition goes.
“We acknowledged those mistakes and talked about leaving them behind in the changing room and backing ourselves to go for it, because although the scoreline had crept away from us significantly, none of us in the room felt it was insurmountable.”
There’s no doubt that this was an opportune time to face the Sharks, who had 10 players in the Springboks squad as well as a few injuries. For all their bite, they perhaps lacked the same depth on their bench as Connacht had.
For Buckley, this was an altogether happier way to reach the landmark of 250 games than had been the case when suffering an ACL injury on his 200th appearance for his home province against Treviso at the end of the 2020-21 season, which sidelined him for nine months.
“In hindsight I think it was the best thing that ever happened me because that break from playing a game every Saturday and to mentally freshen up, it’s helped me prolong my career. It gave me that hunger to get back and it even gave the body a good break.
“Also, I feel very lucky to be able to play for Connacht. It’s where I’m from and that drives me too,” said the 34-year-old Roscommon man.
Fittingly, Buckley also started the game alongside his long-time sidekicks Heffernan and Finlay Bealham, in what is a rare, and perhaps unique, case of three double-centurions starting together in the same frontrow.
“It was nice because we’ve played so many games together. The three of us are really good friends off the pitch as well. It was a milestone game for me, and it was brilliant that the three of us went out there together.
“We just know each other’s games inside out, especially around scrum time. We know what the other person is doing in different moments and I think we’re a good combination together.”
It was the trio’s 36th start together, more than any other Connacht frontrow has done, or probably ever will do.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 4 mins: Heffernan try, Ioane con, 7-0; 22: Esterhuizen try, Masuku con, 7-7; 25: Hendrikse pen, 7-10; 29: Esterhuizen try, Masuku con, 7-17; 35: Hendrikse pen, 7-20; 38: Grobler try, Masuku con, 7-27; (half-time 7-27); 43: Forde try, con, 14-27; 51: Heffernan try 19-27; 55: Jennings try, Forde con, 26-27; 71: Dowling try, Forde con, 33-27; 79: Forde pen, 36-27; 80+1: Masuku pen, 36-30.
CONNACHT: Santiago Cordero; Mack Hansen, Piers O’Conor, Cathal Forde, Shane Jennings; Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham; Niall Murray, David O’Connor; Josh Murphy, Conor Oliver, Cian Prendergast (capt).
Replacements: David Hawkshaw for Ioane (h-t); Peter Dooley for Buckley, Sam Illo for Bealham, Shamus Hurley-Langton for Oliver (all 56 mins); Dylan Tierney-Martin for Heffernan, Oisín Dowling for O’Connor (both 61); Caolin Blade for B Murphy (65); Paul Boyle for J Murphy (73).
SHARKS: Jordan Hendrikse; Eduan Keyter, Jurenzo Julius, Andre Esterhuizen, Ethan Hooker; Siya Masuku, Bradley Davids; Ntuthuko Mchunu, Dylan Richardson, Ruan Dreyer; Jason Jenkins, Gerbrandt Grobler; James Venter, Vincent Tshituka (capt), Emmanuel Tshituka.
Replacements: Corne Rahl for Jenkins, Tian Meyer for Davids (both 49 mins); Hanro Jacobs for Dreyer, Fez Mbatha for Richardson, Trevor Nyakane for Mchunu (all 61); Reniel Hugo for Grobler, Tinotenda Mavesere for Venter (both 73). Not used: Gurswin Wehr.
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR).
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