There could hardly have been a more fitting finale. In the game’s final act, the retiring Jack Carty took a pass from the departing Matthew Devine to kick the ball into the exultant home crowd in his final act at the ground he has graced more than any other for pretty much his whole rugby playing life.
Ben Murphy and Josh Ioane set the tone of Connacht’s daring, high-tempo game before the replacement halfbacks were introduced just after Munster had trimmed Connacht’s lead to 19-7, thus creating the possibility of a potentially critical bonus point for either team entering the last 10 minutes.
Cian Prendergast, having dived on to a loose ball, Connacht went through the phases, Carty orchestrating things before taking Peter Dooley’s pullback and launching Shayne Bolton in the prelude to Sean Jansen plundering his 12th try of the season.
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Carty, Connacht’s all-time leading scorer with 1,260 points, has seen some change from his home debut against Leinster in January 2013 at the old Sportsground to the modern Dexcom Stadium.
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“Three steps,” he said, describing the old terrace. “I’ve seen it from when I was playing under 12s/13s, playing cup finals against Sligo, where there would be a man and his dog watching a match and then when the Clan Stand got made, how phenomenal that was.
“I know Stu would agree with me, it always kind of punched above its weight in terms of noise. Until the stadium was built, we were looking for something to latch on to, and I think the crowd were as well. We were in a bit of a transition and we kind of lost our identity a bit. In fairness to Stuart and the team since they’ve come in, they’ve really got us believing again in terms of what we’re doing.
“There’s an attachment with the fans again. You can see from this evening, [against] Glasgow, [against] Leinster, they just want something to hold on to. They want a team that will fight for them. I think that’s what we’ve started to do, particularly this season.
“It’s such a wonderful place to be when it’s like that; very similar to 2015-16 and parts of 2019. It’s just about keeping it going.”
Carty (235 caps) and Denis Buckley (275) were among the retiring or departing players who were presented to the crowd.
“Having my wife [Sarah] on the pitch and my parents [Susan and Ted], they obviously have given, as do the majority of parents, so much to their kids to achieve their dream,” said Carty. “My mum and dad would have went to games in Newport. They obviously would have went to the glamorous ones like South Africa, but my dad was there at games in Bruff, in Dungannon, everywhere and anywhere. So, I know they’ll miss it very much.”
At 33, one can’t help but feel that Carty, who will work for the family business, Oliver Carty Meats, has more to offer the game and will hopefully continue to pass on some of his knowledge. He has been doing it this season with the talented Seán Naughton, one of many young players to blossom under Lancaster.
“I remember at the start of the season, and at times last year, as an older player, you can get very territorial around young players coming in.
“I remember Stu had said it to me, ‘take him under your wing’. And from that point on, you’ve seen how he has transformed in the last couple of months to become an integral part of this team.
“For a player like him, I’m genuinely really proud of him and how he’s grown into the man he is and the performance he’s played recently. That’s all I really want to do. And I think that’s all anyone wants to do is to bring the young lads along and then leave the jersey in a better place.”
At which juncture Lancaster couldn’t resist stressing: “I think he’s done it. He’s the most selfless player, honestly, I’ve ever come across. Like, if I said to him: ‘Listen Jack, we can’t do this, this and this’, he’d say ‘Yeah, no problem, how can I help? What do I need to do? How can I help this team get better?’
“That’s all he wants to do. It’s an incredible mindset really.”
