Rookie enjoying life in the fast lane

Rugby European Challenge Cup: To understand the substance behind the Connacht revival this season, you need look no further than winger Conor McPhillips.

Most rookie professionals thank their lucky stars when they sign their first provincial contract and anticipate a season of hard training and few playing opportunities. Yet McPhillips has been one of Connacht's most frequent performers despite Michael Bradley's all-encompassing rotation policy and is among the top try-scorers in the Celtic League, with 10; he has also scored one in Europe, against Narbonne.

He has come up against the strongest international players to grace the stage in the past decade, names that truly resonate: Harinordoquy, Terblanche - and on Sunday, Will Greenwood.

He has played under the threat of spectacularly stormy conditions and equally hostile supporters in deepest France and enjoyed a win against his home province of Leinster. And now he awaits an on-field reunion with his former Ireland under-21 team-mates Simon Keogh and Andy Dunne at the Stoop on Sunday.

The semi-final against Harlequins has been billed as the biggest day in the history of Connacht rugby and McPhillips is stuck in the middle of it.

"The whole season has been a bit unreal to be honest. I was just delighted to get a contract and I suppose my realistic ambition was to get included in the squad of 22 as often as possible," he says.

"But the opportunity Michael Bradley has given players has been fantastic and it was gratifying to come into a camp where there was simply no egos or attitude, just encouragement.

"I got a start early on in the Celtic League and it has just gone by in a rush."

Connacht's response to the threat of being jettisoned by the IRFU has been the great "other story" of the Irish season. Faced with the leaving of several top players - including full back Gavin Duffy for Harlequins - and no guarantees about their future, this year's squad were half expected to suffer a demoralising and muted season.

Instead, they have grown in stature and reputation with each game. Somewhat uneven in the League, they have been bold and magnificent in the Challenge Cup.

Bradley's own "can-do" personality set the tone early on and dispelled whatever sense of gloom still resided despite the more recent détente with the IRFU.

"Naturally the subject came up at a few meetings early on and the realisation that Connacht wasn't safe was a factor. But we still had games to prepare for and maybe it has become a motivating factor," says McPhillips.

"As well as that, there has been a conscious effort to raise our profile in the province and we have been out doing sessions with kids in places like Monivea and Headford and the reaction has been great. And since this cup run began, the support has been phenomenal."

As of Monday, 1,100 tickets had been bought for the match in London, a phenomenal number given that the game is taking place on an Easter Sunday. A group of 200 supporters are said to be travelling from Tralee, the home place of John O'Sullivan, Connacht's inspirational number eight. It is also expected expatriate westerners will descend upon Richmond in great numbers. The occasion - and the meaning it holds - eclipses anything McPhillips has been part of before.

He was invited to Connacht after an impressive AIL season with St Mary's. Growing up in Templeogue, he had balanced schools rugby with athletics, specialising in hurdles and the 100 metres sprint.

"The problem was the hurdles kept growing and I didn't, so I stuck to the dash."

He was no slouch: his best time is 10.87, recorded in a race in which his friend Gary Ryan set a national record of 10.44. "I was actually second last. They were dragging me along with them."

He had half a notion to pursue an athletics scholarship in an Ivy League school but argued with himself that it was pointless trying to improve in a country where sub-11-second sprinters are a dime a dozen. Rugby it was.

As with other Leinster players who were overlooked by their own province, he has found a new lease of life in the west. Last weekend's rejuvenating win against Ospreys, which involved a leap from a 21-7 second-half deficit, was a nice little elixir in terms of confidence.

If there has been an identifiable flaw in the Connacht game since the new year, it has been the tendency to start slowly, as if they needed to dig a hole in order to start climbing.

"We certainly hope that isn't the case but definitely we felt we have taken the foot off the gas in a few games and that performance was important for us. Once our maul got into action in the second half, we completely controlled the game and it was a matter of waiting, of staying composed, which Michael has always emphasised."

It is a virtue they will need on Sunday. Nobody in Connacht is oblivious to the rugby team anymore and they have accumulated national support after their European triumphs. But of all the provinces, they continue to battle persistent odds. So it will be against Harlequins.

"All I can say is that we will go out to try and win. It would be negative to just go out with a plan to keep the score down. The crazy thing is that even if we win in London, there is no guarantee we will win the actual tie. There are no certainties."

Spoken like a true Connacht man.