Connacht, “not up to par” in their loss to Cardiff, face a quick turnaround for their first meeting of the season with South African opponents Bulls on Friday.
Back in contention are outhalf Josh Ioane and centre Byron Ralston, having recovered from respective injuries, while internationals Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen and Finlay Bealham also are available.
Their presence will be vital as Connacht prepare for a “massively physical challenge” at Dexcom Stadium, according to scrum and contact coach Cullie Tucker, and that will necessitate fixing a struggling lineout, and ensuring a solid scrum against a side that wins the most penalties of any URC team from that set-piece.
“They pose a huge power challenge. It’s very, very important you retain the ball against these guys,” Tucker says.
RM Block
Connacht will need to be more physical in the contact area and “stand up to it”, while also “kicking intelligently” to put Connacht in the fight.
“I think once we’re in the fight, we’ll be in a good place. I back our players to turn it around, and I back ourselves for a good performance on Friday.
“Playing against that quality of international opposition and test match experience, you can’t help but be excited, while understanding the challenge that comes with it.”
Last season Connacht lost to the Bulls in South Africa by 56-27 after coming off a break. Thus lessons have been learned, he says.
“We’re highly aware of where we need to be physically. And I think we’re way more battle-hardened than we were at that stage. We’ve had some really tough battles over the years, here and in the High Veldt, so we know the physicality and the power that’s coming.”
With away victories hard to attain, Tucker says it’s crucial to make home advantage count.
“You have to take your home comfort – you just have to,” he says. “I thought the crowd against Benetton was exceptional – they really got behind the team, which was fantastic, particularly in some of the defensive sets we had in the 22.”
And with the Dexcom crowd revelling in the new atmosphere, he says it’s up to the team to provide that energy.
“It’s on us to give them the energy they need. They’re absolutely fantastic supporters. You need to be winning your home games in the URC 100 per cent, and even though we lost the weekend, we came away with a point.
“Going away from home, not playing well, and coming away with a point does show an element of character. But your home fixtures are vital.”
While Connacht’s defence has faced criticism in the past, he insists many areas of their game is “still growing, progressing and developing”.
“The system is not broken. It’s just different elements of our game at different times let us down, unfortunately. But our defence stood up for the majority of the game, and that’s been something people have been highly critical of us for the past while.”
The coaching set-up has provided players with some “easy fixes around ruck and attack” with the players “intelligent enough and good enough to take the learnings and move on”.
Connacht, he says, now have a “heightened awareness” what the Bulls bring. “When they fire their shots, they are very, very aggressive.”
