Pat Lam has Connacht believing that great rewards will soon match their deeds.
At the start of this season, the westerners set off to qualify for the European Cup under their own steam for the first time.
A top six finish in the Guinness PRO12 was the goal. That has been comfortably achieved, as has a semi-final. Connacht are back in the big time but new goals have been set.
Victory over Glasgow Warriors, on Saturday, would see Lam’s men claim a top two finish. It may even see them finish atop the league standings.
At his Tuesday press briefing, at The Sportsground, Lam produced some great comments and anecdotes about how far his team have come this season. He also spoke about how the province’s fortunes has invigorated the whole region.
'@bundeeaki12 is a Connacht man. You can truly say he’s a Connacht man' https://t.co/ACUFnaApnG
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) April 16, 2016
One of the biggest achievements, Lam noted, is now the amount of Connacht jerseys, hoodies, tracksuits and t-shirts on display across the province. Leinster and Munster jerseys are less visible on the streets, in the schools and on the rugby pitches.
Lam also produced a document to highlight just how well Connacht have done with a shallow playing pool. Connacht are, far and away, the most inexperienced side when it comes to Test match experience. In terms of the current league table, here’s how Connacht stack up.
- Glasgow 735
- Connacht 57
- Leinster 899
- Ulster 431
- Scarlets 297
- Munster 485
- Ospreys 514
- Cardiff 499
- Edinburgh 290
- Dragons 123
- Treviso 530
- Zebre 633
That number will drop significantly when Robbie Henshaw [20 caps] and Rodney Ah You [3] head their respective ways to Leinster and Ulster this summer. Marnitz Boshoff is arriving from South Africa but he has just one Test cap to his name.
The Connacht story has heartened just about every Irish rugby fan this season but sometimes it takes one statistic to sum up just how amazing a journey it has been.
