Gatland has Connacht brotherhood primed

On Tuesday, September 16th, Connacht had a training session in Bordeaux. More than any match, it was said to be the turning point of their season. It came 48 hours after they were "robbed" in injury time against Nice, and the response from the entire squad left an indelible psychological imprint on the remainder of their season.

By all accounts it was a fairly moving experience for all concerned. Eric Elwood and Conor McGuinness, rested by coach Warren Gatland in advance of their return to Dublin for an Irish squad session the next day, shouted and applauded vigorously from the sidelines. Motivated by a residual anger over their Nice defeat, it was an intense session without one dropped ball and culminated in high fives all round.

Four wins later and Connacht are here in the south of France, in Agen - only one hour from Toulouse - preparing for this evening's European Conference quarter-final. Gatland has been invoking the spirit of Bordeaux in a part of France famous for its armignac and prunes. The story goes that when former All Black Murray Mexted was leaving Agen, where he played for a year, he was given his body weight in prunes. After the three-week hiatus since group qualification interrupted their momentum - especially judging by their heavy defeat in a friendly away to Caledonia last weekend - captain Graham Heaslip admits: "That was a fear. But since we've arrived the sessions have been going well. We had very physical sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, and not quite as intense today, which we hadn't done since the Northampton game."

Gatland, masterful motivator and master of the mind games that he is, appears to have the Connacht brotherhood nicely primed again.

"The hunger is back," added Heaslip after he emerged from another of their inspiring team meetings last night. "People just want to succeed. There is an awful lot of pride at stake. We don't want to let ourselves down."

Yet for all Gatland's bestlaid plans, the week hasn't been without its hitches. Upheavals at Heathrow detained hooker Billy Mulcahy, reserve prop Ray Ward and phsyio Mary Walsh for over a day until their arrival on Thursday evening.

An initial attempt to keep away from prying French eyes by basing themselves in the even more remote Temps Sur Lot met with limited success. Camera crews and reporters regularly attended. So they brought forward their transfer to the more adjacent Hotel Prince Noir, 15 minutes outside Agen, to Thursday.

Connacht seem to be the talk of the town. Even when they stroll across the sunkissed road in shorts and Tshirts, the players are asked of their relative strengths, which nearly all seem to revolve around Ereec Elwood and le nouveau nombre neuf pour l'equippe Irlandais, aka Conor McGuinness.

Ironically, were Connacht to win, and so reach the December 20th semi-finals, their players would be ruled out of the international against Italy.

The surprises are on the bench, where Gatland has opted for a fifth forward, Connacht under-21 captain and lock Jimmy Duffy, ahead of a third back, Alan Reddan, with Rory Rogers returning to the replacements' panel instead of Mark Reilly.

And why would McGuinness, ribbed all week, miss this? It is an idyllic setting. The Hotel Prince Noir is an olde world, rustic, cobblestoned, single-story converted stud farm, and so far removed from the action that the players had little to do yesterday afternoon other than make the mini-bus journey into town, or remain at the hotel playing the Sega video games or cards which they brought with them.

There was an ironic twist to yesterday's session when one of the three mini-buses being used by the squad, namely Heaslip's, was towed away for being illegally parked. No more than an amusing interlude.

The Stade Philippe Sella, built as recently as 1988, is a billiard top, with covered seating on both sides and a capacity of 13,000 which is expected to be filled for tonight's kick-off (8.0 p.m.).

This will have the side-effect of making Agen even more fired up, with one or two of the Connacht camp privately conceding that they expect a dirty match - although the presence of an English referee is encouraging.

Heaslip would only go so far as to say that: "French sides are typically more robust, especially in front of their own crowds. It could boil over. They are expected to be manly, to `front up' so to speak. The crowd will take nothing less than a home win, and that they beat us to a pulp. "We'll give as good as we get, but we're not going to bring in violent play. That's not our style. But at the same time nobody will be shirking from their duties."

It is also definitely true that this tightly knit group revel in being abroad together - all the more so when the odds are stacked against them, as they undoubtedly appear to be again.

Agen are one of only two teams - Colomiers being the other - who boast 100 per cent records from the group stages. Their key men up front all appear to be in prime form. Abdelatif Benazzi, one of the most potent and athletic back-row runners in the world game, Philippe Benetton and Marc Dal Maso have played in the French pack, and were the cornerstone of their 32-27 Latin Cup final victory over Argentina last week. Indeed, Benazzi and Dal Maso were amongst the try scorers.

Videos of Agen have confirmed the Connacht management's initial impressions of them. Not surprisingly, Agen play to the strengths of their international trio up front, continuously popping short balls to these close-in big runners as they attempt to punch holes into the opposition fringe defence.

"They also have a very strong scrum," added Gatland, "and they'll probably try to maul anything from 20 or 30 metres out. To be honest I've been a bit disappointed with the French sides and supposed French flair. They've been conservative in kicking for touch and trying to outmuscle us. I'm privately hoping that Agen will be the same, because it will play to our strengths."

Gatland and Heaslip admit that Connacht have lost the element of surprise. Agen have probably seen tapes of their performances in Nice and Bordeaux. Yet an innate French superiority complex could help Connacht. Asked about their prospective opponents, captain Benazzi is reputed to have said: "Connacht, where's that?"

If they acquire an early lead, then the French will no doubt cut loose. But Gatland reasons: "I've told the players to enjoy playing in front of a full house and the occasion. I think we'll be up for it."

It will need another huge, 15-man effort, with everyone atuned for 80 minutes. Asked what his team's chances of winning were, he said: "Zero." That is, the same as all the other "biggest games in Connacht's history". My taxi driver reckoned it would be 26-12 for Agen. Well, you have to ask. In fact, that would be highly creditable, yet you wouldn't back against this lot.

Connacht: W Ruane; N Barry, P Duignan, M Murphy, N Carolan; E Elwood, C McGuinness; J Maher, B Mulcahy, M Finlay, G Heaslip (capt), M McConnell, J Charlie, B Gavin, S McEntee. Replacements: M Cahill, B Jackman, R Ward, J Duffy, R Rogers, O Cobbe, R Southam.