the game brings to mind the expression 'the end justifies the means'. fantastic win and yet! Jack could be criticized for below par penalty kicking but then he saved our ass with some fantastic positional kicking. Delahunt helped stabilize the scrum when he came on but he missed his man how many times in the lineout. Tiernan looked sublime with his runs but his tackle on David for the Toulouse first try was simply substandard.

On a 100% positive side Niyi continues to amaze me. How many times does he take the ball on the backfoot (is he simply too fast for his own good) and still forces a way forward. Hr simply is incredible to watch. Kelleher is fitting in on the other wing like he was born there. He is in exactly the right place at the right time to receive passes and make the runs that he makes. Bundee and Craig are simply made to play side by side. They combine brilliantly. Jake Heenan was faultless all night and deserves an Irish call-up. Ultan won how many lineouts against the head. Andrew Browne wasn't perfect but boy for somebody coming in the wake of Aly he is nearly there already. Very impressed with him.

The front row were always going to have a hard time so its not fair to be critical. One thing I will say is that even when we were losing over 10 games on the trot to our success today our teams always give 100%. I always return to the Sportsground for that reason alone. If my team believes it can win then I believe they can win. And if they don't I know they tried.

Yes I am proud of our achievements of recent times but it would never have happened without the never say die attitude of Connacht. And that's why they have diehard fans.

Losing badly on the French twitter account (Abendanon 59, Fofana 32, Niyi 5) but on the English account he's winning (Niyi 123, Robson 90, Maitland 42).

just going on the English speaking FB page:
Niyi is ahead on 706 Likes
Dan Robson is in second....
..on 30 Likes

Bit closer on the French FB page:
Niyi tied with Fofana on 50 Likes, with Abeddon on 46 Likes

Niyi’s opener is (unsurprisingly) up for try of round 1.

You can vote by retweeting these tweets:

Invalid consumer key/secret in configuration

Invalid consumer key/secret in configuration

Alternatively you can vote by liking these posts:

www.facebook.com/europeanrugbychampionsc...os/1114039468692696/

www.facebook.com/EuropeanRugbyChampionsC...os/1130890266966454/

There’s nothing stopping you doing all four if you like, so Vote anticipé, vote souvent.

connachta wrote: Don't get you. On the contrary, I think Poolman and Ili were pulled off as a precaution to be available for Zebre

That's kind of what I meant: the remaining ERC registered outside backs being pulled from the Eagles was a bit of a giveaway that TOH was out for next week and possibly beyond.

Don't get you. On the contrary, I think Poolman and Ili were pulled off as a precaution to be available for Zebre

connolly wrote: Unfortunately Tiernan was on crutches and had a knee brace on this evening watching the eagles game

Feared it wouldn't be good news when both Poolman and Ili were pulled from the Eagles game. Any chance of you giving us a summary on the Eagles thread?

Unfortunately Tiernan was on crutches and had a knee brace on this evening watching the eagles game

Yet another great night. It's losing it's impact when you say its one of the best nights we've had in the Sportsground on such a regular basis over the last year or so but this again was right up there. Last night was heroic, there is still major room for improvement but what I really liked last night was the complete lack of panic in the Connacht team even when the game seemed to be running against us. Toulouse missing the straight forward penalty to push it out to 13 was a lifeline for us but we backed ourselves and came up trumps. On such a special night it might be nit-picking but in the end a 5-0 result was possible but we'll happily take this.

Toulouse even despite their dip in the last few years are still the biggest name team in Europe in my mind but the contrast from how we played the game to how they played it was stark. They were relying on scrum penalties and trucking it up around the fringes with the big men. Only for their 2nd try did we see the quality they can show with ball in hand. That apart ball in hand we completely outplayed them.

Next week is a tricky one. Zebre will target next week. They are a different proposition at home and have shown already against us this season that they will give us plenty of problems. We're in a much better place than we were at that point but after battling so hard for this 4 its important to keep the momentum going. Hopefully we can get the full complement of points next week to put us in with a real chance of quarter final qualification.

There is a downside to Victories like last night





The whopping hangover that follows

Tall Paul wrote: An amazing night.
[...]

Fingers crossed TOH is not out for long. It was on the far side of the pitch from me. Someone said it looked like a calf injury.

Agree with all your points, lots of space for improvement, even allowing for a great performance. TOH seemed to have a body hit his knee and bend it at an unnatural angle, I was pretty concerned but I think he walked off it and later celebrated a try so hopefully not too bad.

We don't do outsiders out here in the WEST, so you should change the name and enjoy the ride.

An amazing night.

Thank you Connacht for giving us something to cheer for. It was great hearing the return of the fields of Athenry coming back to the whole ground.

The back 3 were electric.
Mid field found so much space
Half backs kept the game at a high tempo
Back row!!! (If it was not rugby they would be charged with assult)
Front 5 were work horses

The good thing is there is still room for improvement, I think every player made at least 1 mistake. Scrum were under pressure. Passes were not given. Mistackles seems to be down but defence needs to be better.
We are heading in the right direction

Fingers crossed TOH is not out for long. It was on the far side of the pitch from me. Someone said it looked like a calf injury.

Hello there, as you may see from my username I am a bit of an outsider in the sense that I neither come from Connacht nor live there.

The fact is that I feel increasingly compelled to share my thoughts on this truly outstanding rugby team. In truth, it is a collection of outstanding people.

Pat Lam's words struck a chord with me after yesterday's victory against Toulouse. "We want to inspire a province", he aid. As an ex-pat living abroad for some time now, I can say with certainty that the exploits of this Connacht team are inspiring far more than just a province. For the first time in a long time, I once again follow a rugby team, with all the highs and lows that go with it. If that's jumping on the bandwagon, I'm guilty all the way. I prefer to see it as enlightenment.

Anyway, congratulations to you all for another tremendous victory yesterday. I do not have sufficient words for Muldoon, nor Aki. Heenan and Mckeon are made of similiar stuff, and what a cameo from O'Brien. Sensational impact.

In the backs, I think Kelleher has extraordinary presence for such a young, inexperienced player. I loved the way both he and Adeolokun went looking all around the park for work yesterday. And I thought Carty's kicking out of hand was as good as any outhalf I've seen this year.

Finally, a line on the Sportsground and its fans. Somebody on a Munster forum mentioned it, and he was right. It is reminiscent of the great Munster scene before they sterilized it. Perhaps all concerned need to be slightly cautious of what they wish for.

Some on here doubted us because we lost a few games.
Some doubted because of Pat Lam and his coaching team (seriously wtf!!!)
Some doubted because we had a higgledy piggledy little ground ( some of us are proud of our three-legged, one eyed mutt of a ground)
Some doubted because ...apparently we have a sub standard academy (perhaps this is the stupidest one of all)
Some doubted because other fans laughed at us. Nobody is laughing at us now.

Nobody will want to come to our higgledy piggledy little ground, with it's crappy academy and suspect management team. Nobody!!!

Not the most frequent of posters on here but just want to say a big thank you to the lovely duo in Murtys at 1ish who were happy to talk from topics varying from Wasps all the way to the Leinster hurling championship. Was with a few casual fans who loved the craic so if you were those two I want to say a big thank you! If I see ye in Coventry I will buy your pints onsite!

Spoke to a couple of Toulouse fans on the way out and let me say that they were the classiest fans I've ever encountered. When we pip Wasps I will be shouting for Toulouse to come second

We might to be a bit of a proposition if Boschoff is up for it immediately.