Next Saturday night at the Dexcom Stadium, Connacht will host the Dragons. The hype in the streets, on the airwaves and in the media will not match the sense of anticipation last week before Leinster came to Galway, and there won’t be additional terracing at either end of the ground. That’s just the way it is; yet it’s arguably a bigger game in Connacht’s season.
The disappointment of drawing a blank for the first time this season, and the sixth time in their last seven United Rugby Championship games at home against their Leinster big brothers, has to be parked. Head coach Pete Wilkins is mindful of this, and the potential for a comedown after back-to-back interpros.
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“We are. I’ve actually just said it to the players there in the changing room. After a disappointing result like tonight where there is that frustration and the guys feel like the opposition deserves the win but at the same time we could have shown a bit more, there is a lull in energy.
“We acknowledge that. There’s only so much you can say as a leader in that room. But I made sure to remind them that the Dragons are coming. That is a big game for us. It’s a massive game in the context of our season.
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“It’s a massive game in terms of leading into the November break and the Dragons will be targeting this. They’re playing some good rugby this year with some ambition about how they’re attacking, some physicality about how they’re defending, they’ve always had a good kicking game with Rhodri Williams there at nine.
“They’re going to be dangerous and if we’re any way off our game in attack, defence, set-piece, then we’ll be found out pretty quickly. We’ve had a couple of those occasions here at Dexcom Stadium where that’s been the case so we can’t afford to be anything other than 100 per cent next week.”
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Next Saturday will also define the first phase of Connacht’s season. Earn a third win and it will be a satisfactory opening block. But losing for a fourth time would give it a different sheen.
“Yeah it does,” agreed lock Joe Joyce, also noting that the November international four-week break follows next week’s game, after which Connacht host the Bulls.
“It’s the same as any sport. You can play nice rugby, which we have before tonight, but it’s a results game, isn’t it? So if we go in next week, play beautiful rugby and don’t get a result then you look at the table and think: ‘What was that for?’ I think in many ways next week is huge for our season.”
Connacht did many things well, scoring twice and creating other chances. But basic errors, such as not organising a pod to receive Ross Byrne’s restart which Andrew Osborne gathered on the run to score, hurt them. Ditto an inferior kicking game and some lineout malfunctions, and they’ll be annoyed with scrum interpretations in a 10-6 penalty count.
Reflecting on their latest loss to Leinster, having come within one play of winning the corresponding fixture last December, Wilkins admitted: “I was disappointed with how we managed our exits into that first-half wind. Incredibly difficult to kick into, but I felt like we went to out and out running a little bit too soon.
“I really liked our bravery to play to space, a couple of times we went right to left where we felt we could get Leinster on that openside edge. I love the way we backed ourself to try and move the ball there.
“They’re strong foundations for us to keep building on.”
Wilkins added that he is “really optimistic” that Mack Hansen will be fit for next Saturday’s game after his hip injury was none the worse for a light training run last Thursday.
More worrying is the shoulder injury which prematurely ended David Hawkshaw’s night against his former province.
“It’s a pretty sore left shoulder. It wasn’t the initial contact he made, it was the secondary one on the way down to the ground, so the physio recommended he come straight off. There’s no diagnosis yet, but he was in a sling in the changing room.”
