So many of Connacht’s players impressed in their PRO12 triumph.
On Wednesday, Joe Schmidt named an Ireland squad that contained 14 Leinster players.
He included five Connacht players.
Next week, Niyi Adeolokun, Matt Healy, Tiernan O’Halloran, Eoin McKeon and John Muldoon will be on their summer holidays. Unless they’ve pre-booked plans with family or friends, they will be miles and miles away from the Test match action in South Africa.
Schmidt faces the press on Monday and will have some explaining to do.
He may argue that the PRO12 is not the be-all and end-all of rugby in these parts. He would have a point as Saracens looked on another level, today, claiming the Premiership and Champions Cup double.
However, Connacht just beat Glasgow Warriors [twice] and Leinster in the space of four weeks. This was Champions Cup-level rugby and Connacht – not changing their running, offloading, innovative playing style – were streets ahead.
20-3 up with 15 minutes to go and they should have sealed it through Tom McCartney.
CONNACHT’S GAME-BREAKERS
- Matt Healy – 74 metres gained off eight carries, three clean breaks and three defenders beaten
- Tiernan O’Halloran – 119 metres made off 14 carries, one clean break, two defenders beaten and one offload
- Niyi Adeolokun – 89 metres gained off 12 carries, two clean breaks, six defenders beaten and one offload
We’ve already argued the cases of Adeolokun and Healy on these pages but, almost to a man, Connacht had the edge over Leinster. The Blues had the better of the scrum. That was it.
. @connachtrugby win @PRO12rugby title playing sort of rugby we scarcely knew was possible https://t.co/MumTO1Zte3
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 28, 2016
Healy set up one try, scored another, plagued Leinster all evening and finished the final 15 as emergency scrum-half. He is an overnight success story after 27 years. From Ulster Bank League to PRO12 champion but Schmidt is not yet convinced.
Schmidt has world ranking points – and a personal drive for the Lions job – to worry himself. He can’t take a punt. Look where that got us in the World Cup, the latest Six Nations.
Pat Lam’s men are far from perfect but they backed themselves, and their game, when few believed.
We almost felt sorry for Connacht when they went down shooting against Grenoble. Ah, there go Connacht. The plucky, naive heroes. God loves a trier but they’ll never do it when it counts.
On Saturday, in Edinburgh, cheered on by thousands of travel-weary fans, it counted. They won.
Enjoy the summer off and go back to proving people wrong all over again next year.
