KEEPING THE FLAG FLYING Connacht are away to Edinburgh in a make-or-break game on March 21 on the back of last week’s defeat to Leinster. Pic: Sportsfile
Swift return to form required
Gavin Duffy
A FEW of the Connacht lads called around to Michael Swift’s new ‘gaff’ to watch the Six Nations games on Saturday in Galway. Poor old Swifty, who is currently Connacht’s longest serving squad member, is going to be out of action for the next few weeks due to picking up a nasty kidney injury against Leinster last Friday week.
Well-known amongst the squad for compiling ‘best of’ and ‘worst of’ lists on a whole range of subjects from hotels to chocolate bars, Swifty has described this latest injury as definitely in the ‘top five worst injuries…ever’ category!
If you saw his face when the Setanta cameras focused in on him lying prone just inside our half you could tell he was in pain. He will be sorely missed while he is restricted to the sidelines as he has used his 6’5”, 19 stone frame to great effect this season since moving from the back row and taping up the ears for life in the second row. But don’t let his big frame and big hits fool you!
When someone banged into the back of his car while he was stopped at the lights recently, God only knows what the other driver thought when he saw big Swifty as he got out of his car and approached him.
Swifty is such a friendly giant, however, that the first words out of his mouth were: “Sorry mate, you alright?” A natural reaction perhaps for someone who is used to causing mass destruction while on the pitch!
Leinster’s luck was in because we failed to weather storm
AND staying on the subject of Connacht, we suffered a disappointing result at home to Leinster last Friday week. A second half try by substitute Shane Horgan proved the decisive score as the visitors held on to win 16-10 after withstanding a huge effort by the our pack who got within a foot of crossing the try line for what would have been a match-winning score under the posts.
Mind you the conversion would not have been a ‘gimme’ if Felipe Contempomi’s bizarre penalty kick into the howling wind in the first half was anything to go by.
Standing only 15 meters out, the Argentinean kicked the ball high and through the posts. As the touch judges raised their flags we turned towards the halfway line for the restart only to see the ball, which had sailed a good five yards between the uprights, return back through the posts before landing in the arms of Andrew Farley who was five metres infield.
‘It’s short’ we proclaimed. Unfortunately, the referee wasn’t having any of it and the penalty stood.
We have played in some of the worst weather I can ever recall playing in this season. You can only just get on with it but it is frustrating. We have a great week of training in reasonable weather conditions, have plans of play with a bit of width which suits players like myself, and then the weather Gods conspire to reduce the game to an arm wrestle between the forwards. There is nothing those boys enjoy more even though you got to question their sanity at times!
As mentioned above, the lads up front can’t be faulted for their effort against Leinster, especially into the wind in the second half.
It was the same old hard luck stories in the papers the following day — Brave battling Connacht etc, etc — but we want to change the record! It’s another loss. Of course there are positives to be taken from the performance but as a group of players and management we recognise that it is another opportunity lost.
Qualifying for the Heineken Cup is still a possibility and is still our ambition but we must, must, convert any opportunities we create in our last six games. It’s easy for people outside the camp to say we have no chance but that’s why we are out there still believing and still fighting to achieve our objective and they are talking or writing about it.
As Johnny O’Connor has said before, other people put limitations on us as a province but we must not put limitations on ourselves. That might sound like we have a chip on our shoulder but so what if it does?
Our backs are to the wall and we must come out fighting over the last six games otherwise we will have to wait another season to achieve our goal. We play Edinburgh away on Friday week, a team we drew with in Galway last October. A win would give us the boost needed to really push on in the coming months.
Irish result leaves everyone looking to games elsewhere
LAST Saturday’s Croke Park game against Wales was billed as the pivotal game in Ireland’s 2008 Six Nations Championship bid. And so it proved. Defeat to the resurgent Welsh not only denies Ireland an opportunity of a third successive Triple Crown but also smashed any hopes of a first championship trophy.
Ireland now take on England at Twickenham this Saturday in a game that both teams will be gunning to win in order to salvage some pride from disappointing campaigns; ones that had promised so much more only a week ago on the back of impressive victories over Scotland and France respectively.
The championship will now be decided in Cardiff where Wales take on France while Scotland, boosted by their dour home victory over England travel to winless but defiant Italy.
Wales are in pole position to win the championship due to their superior points difference over the French. Warren Gatland’s team also have more than just a championship to play for with a second Grand Slam in four years still on the cards.
Along with ‘Les Bleus’ they have been the most entertaining team in this year’s tournament so hopefully there will be a cracker of a match on Saturday evening when the two sides meet.
