“It’s a moment that we’ve dreamed of as children… and big children.” – John Muldoon, May 2016
How did it come to this?
In May 28th 2016, Connacht captain John Muldoon raised aloft the Guinness PRO12 trophy with Ronan Loughney and Rodney Ah You screaming to the high heavens on either side.
Bundee Aki was beaming, Ultan Dillane towered higher than usual from his position atop the presentation stage and Robbie Henshaw careened into the front row after getting a playful shove from behind. Pat Lam positively glowed with pride and the whole squad remained out on the pitch for over half an hour before taking the party indoors.
Connacht fullback Tiernan O’Halloran summed up how Lam had transformed the province from outsiders to champions in just three years:
“Pat brought us into the mentality that we were going into every game to win it.”
Two seasons on and many of those involved on that fateful day at Murrayfield are gone, or going. Lam left for Bristol last summer and has already guided them up to the Premiership. Jake Heenan will join them this summer and so will Muldoon, as coach.
Loughney has retired, Ah You is at Ulster with John Cooney [starting scrum-half that day]. Aly Muldowney [Grenoble] and AJ MacGinty [Sale] would never play for the province again. Nor would Henshaw, who had already been announced as Connacht bound.
The westerners finished 8th in their title defence season as they coped with the loss of key personnel, tough Champions Cup fixtures and the uncertainty over Pat Lam’s future and a slew of player contracts. O’Halloran admitted that the final few months of Lam’s tenure were far from ideal. Something great was being built but now the rug had been pulled.
Kieran Keane arrived from New Zealand two weeks after the Super Rugby season finished in New Zealand. He had to get a lot of his ducks in a row from 20,000 kilometres away and just about everyone in the province acknowledged that it would take the Kiwi a few months to put his stamp on matters.
Five of the first six games ended in defeat and the Challenge Cup was often sweet relief from the toil and thumpings of the PRO14. October 27 appeared to be the night that Connacht got their act together and could push on to greater deeds. Having fallen behind early to a strong Munster side, containing the likes of CJ Stander, Peter O’Mahony and Simon Zebo, they won 20-16.
Post-match, Keane told us:
“I thought they were outstanding, 10 points down, they could have been rattled, they could have capitulated but it showed the character that they have been working on and talking about. Trying to bring back a little bit of pride. I know things haven’t gone particularly well all season but for me this is a massive, massive win for us.”
Looking back on the season now, with just two games left to play [barring miracles and European playoffs], October 27 was the high point.
Alan Loughnane, producer of The Hard Yards, was at Connacht’s Challenge Cup quarter final loss to Gloucester at The Sportsground. He was impressed with much of Connacht’s attacking play but felt, time and again, their defence was breached too easily.
He recalled one stand-out moment, as Connacht gathered under the posts after falling 27-18 behind.
“It was very interesting. I was behind the goal and they conceded a try where John Afoa ran it in from outside the 22 with nobody laying a hand on him.
“Bundee called everyone in and was just giving out stink. He was a real leader at that time.”
Afoa is a mobile prop but his try was made ridiculously simple as three Connacht players were all drawn to the ball without putting any pressure on the pass.
In their past three games – two of them at home – Connacht have conceded 101 points. There is a sense, from watching them in action, that the wind deserted their sails a long way back. They are drifting into dock with little direction and even less fanfare.
Zebre have done the double over them and they have travelled poorly, winning only once away from home in the league all season. Ospreys and Munster have doled out bad beatings but the frustrating aspect of most of their losses has been that they were well involved in most games before falling away badly.
Too many times in the past two years they have formed a bewildered, beaten guard of honour before trudging back to their dressing room to ask how the f**k they let another one slip away.
Lam was frustrated that the IRFU did not push ahead with strengthening his squad and getting a permanent home. The province’s unlikely ascent was looked upon as a fluke in many quarters and failure to double down on their success left the former head coach, and others at Connacht, pissed off. Lam was tempted to Bristol and has repeated his rapid brand of magic.
Since winning that glorious day at Murrayfield, just under two years ago, Connacht have lost 29 of their 54 fixtures and drew one against Worcester. They are back to being below average. Back to ruing injuries and bemoaning recruitment policies.
Connacht now go into games hoping to win rather than expecting to win.
It is little wonder Bundee Aki tried to knock some heads but it will take more than just speeches to make Connacht contenders again.
