From the history books: The Famous 4 become the Famous 5

In honour of our impending return to the west of the Republic of Ireland, here is what happened the last time we crossed swords and sunk pints with Connacht.

A cold and icy feeling was lifted from Kingston Park on Sunday as the Falcons whitewashed Connacht, 39-0 in what started out an error-prone game. Despite scores in the past couple of weeks, speculation mounting over who will be renewing contracts at the end of the season and the bitterly cold weather, the Falcons would haven't been disappointed with the supporters who turned out to cheer them on.

Carl Hayman made his home debut in what was a must-win game if the Falcons are going to be in the running for a further place in the European Cup. Familiar faces returned to Kingston Park as Mike McCarthy and Robbie Morris were in action for the opposition. The famous four internationals all played a part in the victory with Mathew Tait, Toby Flood and Jonny Wilkinson crossing over to send the home fans into raptures.

The first half of the game was a disappointment with errors made everywhere you looked. Falcons seemed to dominate not only the ball but the field; however they were unable to break the Connacht line to score the first try. Tim Visser came close, but he was knocked into touch before the ball was grounded. By the end of the first 40 minutes, the score was 6-0 to the Falcons. It was not a convincing lead to have at half time, yet they managed to pull an attack out of the bag with Tim Visser grounding the ball, sending the fans in uproar. Wilkinson added the conversion before the players retired to the tunnel for half time with the score 13-0.

Second half was feared to be the same as the first half. Yet with just 6 minutes on the clock, Wilkinson kicked for the corner, showing confidence in his forwards. Matt Tait was able to score a try from the rolling maul – relief!! Wilkinson was unable to convert the try and missed two further penalties. It was time for Visser to leave the field for Toby Flood. A re-jig of the back line was in order and the famous four were back together – a better reunion than Take That!

Toby was able to kick through the Connacht defence behind their line. Connacht fumbled with the ball which enabled Flood to claim the ball on the floor and score the 3^rd try of the day. Wilkinson added the conversion to take the score to 25-0.

The Falcons were on the attack for the 4^th try to secure a bonus point, but errors ensured the fans had to wait until near the end for the fourth try to be scored. Connacht had some opportunities to carry the ball forward, yet the Falcons defence was too strong for Connacht to break. Errors also cost Connacht dear.

Connacht were on the attack, however Falcons managed to scramble the ball back. Jamie Noon broke through the defence and passed on to substitute Ollie Phillips who was able to cross the line for the fourth try. Ollie celebrated his try well – but I am sorry – you do need to have some dancing lessons! Wilkinson added the conversion to make it 32-0 with roughly 5 minutes to go.

The game was won at this point, but you had a feeling the Falcons wanted to end with another try. So they attacked furiously at the Connacht defence. The ball was passed back to Wilkinson, who saw a gap behind the Connacht line and, as he did for England against New Zealand, was able to collect the ball and cross the line for the 5^th try of the game. The conversion was added by Wilkinson, the ref called for full time. 39-0. Game over.

Whatever rumours that are circulating the rugby world at the moment, Jonny proved he was still dedicated to the game today. Let’s hope this win boosts their confidence and they have a repeat performance against Gloucester next week.