EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CUP
Pool Two
Connacht v Toulouse
Sportsground, Saturday, 5.35pm
Live on Sky Sports 4
For the third time in their four ventures into the more rarefied air of the European Champions Cup, Connacht will play host to the competition’s true aristocrats, namely four-time winners Toulouse. Once again the Sportsground will be packed to capacity but all has changed, changed utterly. Connacht and their Galway citadel are different beasts these days.
When Toulouse first visited in November 2012, the game had novelty value. Connacht were grateful just to be dining at Europe’s top table.
Dignitaries present
It was their first home game in the competition. President Michael D Higgins was amongst the dignitaries present in a crowd of 9,120. And Toulouse won 36-10.
Two years later, Connacht hosted them in December at the Sportsground a week after causing one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament when ending a nine-game losing run with a stunning 16-14 win in Toulouse.
Forewarned and forearmed, Toulouse exacted revenge with a bonus point, 37-9 win in Galway the following weekend. Connacht were once more competing on the shirt tails of Leinster securing an additional spot for Ireland by dint of winning the 2013 Heineken Cup, and were perhaps again feeling a little bit sheepish about their participation.
The Sportsground, which hadn’t witnessed a home win since the opening weekend of the season in the Pro12 League against Zebre, had fallen silent and resigned to their team’s fate long before the end.
This time, the crowd ought not be so easily quietened. Last season, Connacht made their Galway venue into something of a fortress, losing only once in 15 games, against Ulster.
Although Glasgow and the Ospreys both won there at the start of this season, back-to-back bonus-point wins over Edinburgh and Ulster have restored the Sportsground’s roar. Connacht have developed a brand of rugby that not only the players believe in, but also their supporters.
The old dog track may need to be redeveloped, or failing that Connacht will relocate, but it’s different venue compared to when Toulouse last visited.
“It’s unbelievable, and it’s a special place,” says their dynamic young hooker Dave Heffernan, who is likely to start in the continuing absence of Tom McCartney.
“The fans, last year and this year, have stuck with us. Even when we had a couple of losses at the start of the year they kept supporting us. You didn’t really hear too many bad words said, even though we knew we were letting them down. So to get that win [against Ulster] was massive for them and a massive thanks for coming out and supporting us again.”
Not alone are capacity crowds now increasingly common place since last season’s run-in featured derby wins over Leinster and Munster as well as consecutive victories over Glasgow, but the Connacht supporters are staying with their team through mini crises, as there were in all those games and again last Friday when Ulster erased Connacht’s 14-point half-time lead within five minutes of the restart.
‘Pretty tough’
“I’d say it’s pretty tough for opposition teams to come here and play with that kind of crowd against them. It does make a huge difference for us, no doubt about it. It’ll be pretty electric,” says Heffernan expectantly in advance of his Champions Cup debut. “I can’t wait. It’s definitely going to be the biggest game I’ve ever been involved in, if I’m picked. Toulouse are probably the most famous team in the Northern Hemisphere.”
Confidence has been restored, albeit as Heffernan also says: “It’s easier to come in when you get a win but again there’s been a lot of critical analysis. It’s good to get the wins, but it is about the process.”
Spoken like a true disciple.
Although there were imploring pleas to “kick the ball” as Connacht patiently ran the ball back from their own territory against Ulster, by now the home crowd have been versed in what to expect too. Connacht may be what are known as a cardiac team, but their supporters are disciples as well.
