“No fear. Have a go. It wasn’t perfect but there was some good rugby.”
You could take Pat Lam’s comments, after Connacht had reached their first Guinness PRO12 final, and attach them to any of the 30 games they have played this season.
The Kiwi has taken his side to the brink of their first ever major trophy, captured outright [they shared three Irish Interprovincial Championsips], and done so with a brand of rugby that rewards the daring, intuitive and brave.
Connacht’s stated goal, at the start of the season, was a top six finish in the PRO12. They fancied a crack at the European Challenge Cup but qualifying for the Champions Cup, off their own bat, was the priority.
By the time they fell short against Cardiff Blues, on December 4, they were top of the table and had beaten Munster at Thomond Park for the first time in their history. Interpro defeats followed to Ulster and Leinster, over the festive period.
Those losses, part of a four-match tailspin, in the league would have finished ever other Connacht team that bore the badge. Not this team. Ulster and Leinster were full of internationals yet were run close.
That festive period, tough as it was, steeled Connacht. Captain John Muldoon said:
“It’s probably hard to believe but we’ve been talking about winning a final for a good few weeks and months. We haven’t been saying that too loud but we’ve been speaking about it.
“We reassessed our goals a good few months back. All roads were pointed at Edinburgh.
“You say one thing [to the press and fans] and you think another. Obviously, you still have to go out and perform, and still have to get the results.
“Once we figured out we were going to be top four – come that break after Christmas – we reassessed and talked about winning. We knew a home semi-final was going to be key to that. That’s why we were a little bit disappointed coming off the pitch after the Treviso [defeat] but thankfully it all worked out.”
A first final for Connacht in its 131 years of existence. Muldoon pointed to his All-Ireland Minor hurling medal with Galway, trophy wins for Bundee Aki and Tom McCartney in New Zealand and Lam’s successes. The coach claimed an Aviva Premiership and Heineken Cup with Northampton, and two ITM Cups coaching Auckland, but this would top the lot.
Lam harked back to pre-match comments that eight of the matchday squad are “local”. That was a key part of Lam’s narrative as The Sportsground dust settled. He declared:
“It’s a magnificent day for the West of Ireland. We had fantastic support here but we know there are so many people that would have liked to be here – from Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, Galway, right through…
“It’s not the West of Ireland, it’s the people of the West of Ireland that make the difference. It’s people, not places.”
Those people will flood from the West to Edinburgh, by any means possible, to see if this team than reach a goal they set former themselves during their only slump of a towering season.
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