Photo credit to RTE.
James Grennan at the Dexcom
Connacht suffered a bitterly disappointing 29-15 defeat against the DHL Stormers on the opening night of the URC here in Dexcom Stadium. Despite the heavy scoreline, the boys showcased incredible resilience in their defensive game, marked by a stunning, last-ditch defensive effort from Hansen the opening minutes to keep the South Africans following a loose pass that was intercepted . We also engineered plenty of fluid attacking phases that consistently breached the gainline. However, a mixture of frustrating handling errors and the Stormers’ suffocating goal-line defense meant Connacht repeatedly failed to convert their best attacking opportunities into points, leaving them scoreless across large swathes of a grinding second half.
The set-piece proved to be a major battleground where Connacht struggled heavily, finding themselves in deep difficulty against a remarkably powerful South African pack. New front-row signing Francois Van Wyk suffered a brutal baptism of fire on his debut, finding it incredibly tough to anchor the scrum as the Stormers systematically wore the home pack down. A bright spark arrived in the second half when academy graduate and local boy Max Flynn made his senior debut off the bench, injecting some much-needed energy into the collisions. Throughout the physical encounter, the roaring home supporters did their absolute best to lift the boys, creating a hostile atmosphere as they loudly tried to influence the referee to review a suspected high tackle on a Connacht player. Ultimately, the Stormers’ sheer power proved too much to overcome on a flat opening night in Galway.
Lots to learn from and improve on for round 2.
Onwards and Upwards
Connacht Abú 💚💚💚💚