By Rob Murphy at Sportsground
The ground has been hit and Connacht are sprinting. It’s a start and only that, but it’s a mighty good one all the same. Four tries and a truly exceptional all round effort in terms of work rate, concentration and patience, this was as good as you could expect of any Magners League team.
Cronin Scores. Pic sporting occasions.
Eric Elwood will be as proud as punch of the effort but understandably won’t be letting anyone get ahead of themselves, and lets face it, no one doubts they will. The Dragons call the Sportsground a bogey ground for a reason, that’s seven straight defeats here now.
This is a fixture Connacht teams usually win then but that merely added to the pressure on Saturday evening, especially considering that two away games that were on the horizon. It all made the explosive start from the home side even more impressive.
Connacht left the starting blocks at a blistering pace and led 7-0 after three minutes. Keatley’s flat pass to Niva Ta’Auso unlocked the visiting defense, the centre burst clear and had the ever reliable Ray Ofisa on his shoulder to release and send under the posts for the perfect start. The attitude was spot on and the Dragons were left with huge doubts.
By the half hour mark the scoreline led 20-3, a revitalized and fired up Ian Keatley had kicked two penalties in response to one from a ponderous and largely outplayed Matthew Jones and the second try had come from Connacht’s dominant scrum.
Ezra Taylor broke from the base off loaded on the ground to the on-rushing Jamie Hagen, the tight-head popped off an exquisitely simply pass to Sean Cronin who was not going to be stopped at full speed. The game looked almost dead and buried.
Elwood bemoaned the twenty minute spell that followed either side of the half afterwards. It was the only blot on the performance as Connacht slowly let the Dragons back into the contest with three penalties narrowing the gap to 20-12 early in the second half.
The third penalty was compounded by the fact that Gavin Duffy was sin binned – Connacht’s second yellow as Ezra Taylor had been binned in the first half minutes before Luke Charteris was binned for the Dragons. That had most people fearing the worst but Connacht were not phased in the slightest and Keatley added two penalties in that period.
The sparks in the backline were coming from Fionn Carr and Ta’Auso and that was augmented by the tremendous work in attack and defense from Keith Matthews. Up front the dominance was telling at the breakdown and in the scrums. Hagen was outstanding at tighthead, Cronin and Wilkinson not far behind.
The second row were immense too, Michael Swift making barnstorming runs and taking no prisoners in the process, Upton was outstanding in the lineout especially in the second half when he started to force the turnovers and read the Newport men’s throws.
Connacht scored try number three with 15 minutes remaining and the lead at 26-12. It came from a series of five metre scrums. A brilliant attack involving Ta’auso, Carr and Taylor had come up inches short but the scrum was a huge asset now and two penalties later, referee James Jones went for the penalty try.
That left the tantalizing prospect of a bonus point and within minutes Connacht had it on the board, an overthrown lineout on half way was fetched at the back by replacement Adrian Flavin who popped off to Ian Keatley, the out half burst clear and had Ray Ofisa in support to draw the cover before sprinting home for the bonus point.
A late Will Harris try took nothing away from a stunning start to what will be a tougher campaign than ever before. All the more encouraging was the fact Connacht were propelled to that bonus point by some impressive replacements with David Nolan and Ronan Loughney standing out in that regard. The squad as a whole has seemingly progressed this summer.
The worry, will be the crowd, 1,371 just won’t cut it over the course of the season and Branch officials will hope that it turns out to be the lowest of the season. All round the Magners league in round one crowds were fairly low and that is the usual trend for early September.
However, building on last season’s huge crowds is a must and Connacht supporters need to get out and back this team. The province is crying out for some sporting success after a quiet year on the GAA front, the under resourced but talented and confident young rugby squad could be the ticket for a bit of a lift in the winter. They just need some backing.
Earning it on the field is the first step and Saturday will go a long way in that regard. Llanelli away is next as Connacht look to end an incredible two season run without an away win in the Magners League. That’s a huge target for Elwood and his coaching team. For now Connacht sit proudly at the top of the newly expanded Magners League. One down, 21 games to go.
Connacht: G Duffy; T Nathan, N Ta’auso, K Matthews, F Carr; I Keatley, F Murphy; B Wilkinson, S Cronin, J Hagan, M Swift, B Upton, M McCarthy, R Ofisa, E Taylor.
Replacements : A Flavin for Cronin, R Loughney for Wilkinson, M McComish for McCarthy (all 56 mins), D Nolan for Taylor (58 mins), R Sweeney for Hagan (69 mins), C Willis for Murphy (63 mins), M Nikora for Keatley (69 mins), T O’Halloran for Duffy (69 mins).
Yellow cards : E Taylor (18 mins), G Duffy (50 mins).
Dragons: J Tovey; W Harries, R Gomer-Davies, T Riley, A Brew; M Jones, D Lee; H Gustafson, S Jones, B Castle, L Charteris (capt), S Morgan, J Bearman, H Ellis, R Sowden-Taylor.
Replacements : P Palmer for Castle (31 mins), D Lydiate for Ellis (half-time), G Thomas for Sowden-Taylor (47 mins), D Bishop for Gomer-Davies (58 mins), R Sidoli for Charteris (53 mins), N Griffiths for Lee (70 mins), L Burns for Jones and A Mckenzie for Gustafson (75 mins).
Yellow card : L Charteris (23 mins).
Referee: J Jones (Wales).
Att: 1,371