Connacht have been given a timely boost by the return to full training and fitness of props Finaly Bealham, Rodney Ah You and Ronan Loughney in advance of Saturday's historic Guinness Pro12 semi-final against the holders, the Glasgow Warriors, at the Sportsground. But against that fellow prop Denis Buckley has joined Nathan White on the sidelines for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on the ankle injury he sustained in the win over Glasgow at home two weeks ago.
Such was the carnage to the Connacht front-row in that sleeves rolled up 14-7 win over the Warriors that it was always liable to have some ripple effects, and the loss of the in-form Buckley, who has had a fabulous season, is undoubtedly a blow for squad and player alike.
Buckley is expected to return in time for a full pre-season, while Connacht coach Pat Lam has confirmed that although White has resumed light training he will also "most likely" miss the remainder of the campaign too. That said, there has been further good news in that longer-term casualties, Craig Ronaldson (ankle) and Danie Poolman (foot) have also resumed full training and are available for selection.
As a squad, Connacht returned to a normal full week’s training on Monday after Lam granted them a few days off last week. “Yea it was a funny week, a crazy week, going over to Edinburgh,” said Lam in reference to a hastily arranged media day in Edinburgh last Thursday. “We did our reviews and our awards dinner and then came in on Friday, and that’s brought us into this week. We know that everything we’ve done well has been on the back on training and I’ve certainly seen a raise this week.”
Despite ending Glasgow’s nine-match winning run, Lam fully accepts the challenge which the reigning champions will bring. “We’re under no illusions. They’ve a lot of quality internationals and they will be a lot better. And we know we need to be a lot better again. It’s up to us as coaches to make sure that we train well and prepare well.”
“It would be fantastic to get a great week because I think both teams want to play and more importantly for our fans. It’s going to be chock a block again so we’re hopeful that it’s going to be good.”
Losing is not an option, it was suggested to him. “It is an option if you don’t perform well. There’s no doubt we’ve over achieved in what we’ve done, but to be in this situation just highlights that the only way we’ve got a chance to win is compete as if it’s another week, and this is another game that we’ve got to win.”
Playing conservatively is not an option. “We have to fire shots. There’s no point in paying these games safely, safely. We’ve got to have something up our sleeves.”
Galway city is bedecked in green, as Lam wanted it. “I’ve already said it downtown ‘go green”. Everywhere is looking green. I think the fans know they’ve been part of this journey. So we’re pleased to get a home semi because this is a magical place. Whether you’re at the ground or not at the ground, have a bar-b-cue. At the end of the day it’s so good to be playing rugby at this stage of the season.”
“It’s the biggest game in our history and one we’re all very excited about. The biggest thing is that we’re focussed on how we go about winning games.”
