After taking over as an interim head coach for the last two weeks Cullie Tucker was already beginning to look a little perplexed. As their more regular supporters among Saturday’s record 27,580 capacity crowd at MacHale Park can testify, his Connacht team can have that effect.
Of course no one is probably more puzzled than the players themselves. Two weeks ago they let slip a 19-0 lead at home to Cardiff before pulling through. A week previously they conceded 35 unanswered points to the Ospreys but from 38-14 down came within one play of winning the game to lose 43-40.
Against Munster they trailed 30-12 entering the final quarter, but the introduction of Matt Devine and the Munster-bound JJ Hanrahan then saw their attacking game click into thrilling life. Using pods of forwards as a screen and distributors, Hanrahan pulled the strings as one of four playmakers along with Josh Ioane and the outstanding Mack Hansen and Bundee Aki, with Hugh Gavin and Finn Treacy adding some more youthful zest in addition to Devine.
How did Leinster’s young guns outmatch the Sharks?
They carved two more well-worked tries for Sean Jansen, his second, and Ioane, and appeared to have earned a difficult conversion to win the game with a brilliantly conceived try for Dylan Tierney-Martin only for an earlier crock roll by Aki on Gavin Coombes at the last ruck. Even then Connacht had a lineout and two-man advantage before their final throw was pinched.
They should have won another rollercoaster in the seasonal opener at Thomond Park, whereas here Munster were the better team but Connacht really could have and ought to have won, yet once again they only began to cut loose when all seemed lost.
“Stopping giving ourselves too much to do is the thing,” admitted Tucker a tad wearily. “It’s a work-on. It’s almost not playing to the scoreboard and just playing in the moment. It continues to be a work-on for us. It’s a frustrating one but we have to get to the bottom of it because some of the rugby we played at times was fantastic.
“It was the same as last week, absolutely fantastic but we’re just giving ourselves too much to do. I thought some of the tries we conceded were just too easy, and that’s hurting us as well.”
The wind is apparently notoriously capricious in MacHale Park but then again the Dexcom Stadium is not exactly sheltered from the Atlantic either. Yet while it had an adverse effect on the match it was more damaging to Connacht as Jack Crowley has a superior kicking game to Ioane.
At least two bonus points and some pride were salvaged, albeit the Challenge Cup (and next Saturday night’s home Round of 16 tie to Cardiff) now looks to hold more prospect for end-of-season joy.
“Yeah, potentially. I suppose when the emotion of the occasion dies down we’ll dig into that but next week is a huge game for the club. We’ll keep fighting to the death in the URC. Obviously today is damaging, there’s no point in not saying that, but we still have a massive occasion to come next week, which is exciting.”
