In the space of 30 minutes or so last Saturday evening, Connacht went from 15-19 down to 42-19 ahead, and a brief panic at the Sportsground turned into a bonus point victory.
For Willie Faloon, it looked like a strange game. The flanker was watching on from the bench for an hour or so, and says the 27 point swing ultimately hinged on the bounce of a ball.
“We seemed to be doing the right things for a long time but just weren’t making any impact, and all of a sudden Bundee got a good bounce of a ball, and the floodgates opened”, he says.
After Aki’s try and a conversion from Jack Carty sent Connacht nine ahead, the gaps started appearing in suddenly rugby seemed easy again for them.
Faloon made his entry just after Aki’s try and touched down for the final score of the game, rounding off another resilient, patient performance from Pat Lam’s men.
It leaves C0nnacht second in the pool, just behind the Exeter Chiefs with two wins from three in the Challenge Cup this season, both bonus point victories at home to French opposition.
Their home form has been the foundation to an excellent start to the season, both domestically and in Europe, with six wins and a draw from seven games at the Sportsground in all competitions.
Faloon says the fortress mentality in Galway has been a target for the season, and that it’s been an extra motivation for the squad.
“It’s something we said at the start of the year in pre-season. It’s something we want to take pride in, when our fans are watching us, to gave it everything and get the results there.
“I wouldn’t say it was any big thing, we’re just improving in every aspect. It’s just the small one percenters, everyone’s a year older and a year hungrier and we’re looking to do something special this year.”
But with two Challenge Cup trips to France still to come, the first of which is the return meeting with Bayonne this Saturday, Faloon is taking nothing for granted.
Bayonne may have rolled over in the latter stages of Saturday’s defeat, but they have taken the scalp of Toulouse and Clermont at home this season, while also beating the same Exeter side that put 33 points past Connacht earlier in the competition.
Faloon says he’s raring to get stuck into the French side, but with he, John Muldoon, Eoin McKeon and George Napaou all fighting it out for a spot on the incredibly competitive back-row, he knows the four doesn’t go into three.
And indeed Faloon says that with Connacht’s scrum proving to be a lethal weapon so far this season, he and his fellow back-row partners have been able to flourish.
“It’s an absolute dream. I’ve been in scrums going backwards and props are getting at you for pushing harder and getting left behind, but it’s so easy when you’re going forward, and that’s all down to good work the front row are doing.
“It’s so competitive there at the minute, and that’s with Jake Heenan injured as well. Guys are constantly chopping and changing, and you always have to be at your best.
“It just means when you get an opportunity you have to prove yourself.”
After a try-scoring cameo last Saturday, Faloon is hopeful he may have done enough to force his way into the starting team for this weekend’s return meeting in France, but he admits that any chance to make his mark is one he’s ready to take.
“Hopefully I’ll get some game time and get involved and get a marker down, because you don’t get that many chances to do it, and when you do, you’re hungry.”
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