Connacht hold their nerve

AMLIN CUP QUARTER-FINAL/Connacht 23 Bourgoin 20:HAVE CONNACHT broken on through to the other side? Defiance has been an integral part of the history of the west of Ireland province but when Miah Nikora's drop goal fell between the posts in the 77th minute of this thrilling quarter-final, it carried the outsiders of Irish rugby into fresh country – a semi-final date with Toulon.

No moral victory this; no agonising late score conceded, no what-ifs afterwards or the sight of Connacht men scattered across the field in exhaustion. This was a match that might have been lost but was, crucially, won by the Connacht men. And it was about poise and verve as much as their stock characteristic of heart: it was about the qualities which are associated with this bright new era of Irish rugby.

This was a match that makes up for the generations of bad days and wet nights. A splendid spring afternoon, a live television appearance and a clearly ecstatic home crowd also confirmed the point of pursuing with the notion of Connacht as a professional entity. Connacht are in the semi-final of this European competition for the second time in their history; they bowed at this stage in 2004 against Harlequins.

Regardless of what happens for the remainder of the competition, coach Michael Bradley will bow out on a memorable season. “We showed a lot of resolve against Edinburgh and Leinster and the boys showed a lot of composure. We had three cracks at the drop goal and eventually it crept over and it got us over the line,” he said afterwards.

“We had a very good first half. Just two errors and Bourgoin capitalised on them. We came out with the elements and slackened off and it became a bit of a dogfight. They are big men and they came at us and we suddenly found ourselves behind.

“All we needed to do was settle down and we weren’t able to do that in the second half. It wasn’t with a lot of gusto that we won the game. The crowd were fantastic. We have a home semi-final now and the stage is set for a similar situation.”

Not for the first time, the Connacht team – committed, it should be remembered, to one-year contracts next season, made one forget that contracts had anything to do with why they take the field.

They made mistakes – both the Bourgoin tries were “gimmes”, the first arising from a lapse of concentration on a French lineout deep in their 22 which hooker Tone Alefa Kopelani skipped over the easiest try of his professional life, the second after scrumhalf Johne Senio saw a rare gap of daylight in the Connacht cover and stepped through it for a 57th-minute score to give the visitors a 20-13 lead.

This placed them in a perilous situation but they manufactured a patient, gritty comeback in very tense circumstances. Ian Keatley, having a tough day on place-kicking duties, made way for Nikora and after landing two penalties in front of goal, Nikora saw one attempt at drop goal fade to the outside of the post but, after eight phases which saw the Connacht pack move the ball directly in front of the 22, showed tremendous composure in floating his drop kick to secure the win.

“I was on the ground looking backwards and I wasn’t too sure if it went over until I saw the hand going up so we were delighted. It is a good dressingroom down there,” team captain John Muldoon said afterwards.

Muldoon was in the thick of it again, with George Naoupu putting in a storming performance at number eight and Johnny O’Connor at his abrasive best.

The Connacht tries were products of pure team work, with Swift crashing over aided by the heft of Brett Wilkinson on his shoulder and then Muldoon running home after a scintillating break down the centre by Keith Matthews.

There must have been mixed emotions in the Connacht dressingroom at half-time. They played a clever game into the breeze; patient, disciplined and opportunistic and yet led by just 14-10. There were periods when the visitors looked all at sea – a spectacular clash between fullback Mael Moinot and winger Jean Francois Coux almost allowed Troy Nathan fly-kick the ball for an easy try and Connacht also blew a three-on-one situation after the adventurous Frank Murphy chased on to a perfect bounce and broke free.

In other days, Connacht would have paid dearly for these squandered chances. But they held their nerve here, making changes from the bench at the crucial time and illustrating the deeper reserve of conviction that has seen them challenge bigger fish in the Magners League in recent weeks.

In theory, this is a home game but it remains to be seen if the IRFU elect to move it to a roomier venue, with Thomond Park the obvious choice. Muldoon, displaying a purple eye as a souvenir of his afternoon’s work, poured cold water on the idea afterwards.

“Won’t happen,” he predicted.

“The game will be played here. We will sit on the field in protest if we have to. Nobody likes coming here, we know that. So why would we give them the advantage of a nice big ground, dressingrooms, all that?” But regardless of where the match is played, there is a sense that Connacht fancy their chances against any side just now.

CONNACHT: G Duffy; T Nathan, N Taauso (C O’Loughlin 78 mins), K Matthews, D Carr (A Wynne 67 mins); I Keatley (M Nikora 61 mins), F Murphy; B Wilkinson, S Cronin (A Flavin 71 mins), J Hagan (R Morris 66 mins); M Swift, M McCarthy ( B Upton 65 mins); J Muldoon, J O’Connor; G Nauopu.

CS BOURGOIN: M Moinot; R Coetzee, W Van Zyl (N Viazzo half-time), A Demoulin (S Lahoo half time) JF Coux; B Boyet, J Senio; O Milloud (P Cardinale 72 mins), TA Kopelani (JP Genevois half-time), A Tchougong (V Pelo 73 mins); B Williams, C Basson; J Frier, T Cowley; C Levast ( B Leoute half-time).

Referee: A Small (England).