Saracens 67 - Connacht 6
By Rob Murphy at Allianz Park
Humiliating, mortifying and embarrassing. Take your pick. Connacht was obliterated in their final Heineken Cup game against Saracens at Allianz Park Saturday. Over the course of forty painful minutes in the second half, they looked for all the world like a side that don't belong in competitions such as this.
The same team that just two weeks ago were matching it with the best of Leinster, looked like they were playing a different sport here. Of course, it wasn't the same team, four changes in personnel in fact, three tactical and all experienced players replacing in-form young players.
The average age of those three players left out was 21, the average age of those replacing them was 13 years older at 34. The logic couldn't be more basic. You can’t trust young lads away from home against a major force in Europe, the older guys will know what to do when the pressure is on, they'll make the right decisions, they'll calm everyone around them, and they’ll lead.
Minute one, and Gavin Duffy at full back makes a searing break - a brief glimpse on this Saturday of the Ballina man at his very best - offloads to Henshaw who is taken down onto the artificial surface inside the 22. Ball back to Dan Parks. Decision time, you're in behind the home defence, you’re away from home to the best of England, it's the first minute, what do you do? Kick it away, apparently.
The crossfield kick from the 63 time capped, 34 year old Scottish international was optimistic at best, poorly executed and bizarrely planned at worst. The tone was well and truly set there and then. Connacht had signified to the home side that they wouldn't be able and/or interested in retaining possession through phases even if they did have the field position.
That was a snapshot of what the changes had brought, over the first 40 minutes Connacht toiled and battled and led twice and won penalties at scrum time and set up platforms by winning primary ball but they didn’t have the composure, the belief, the leadership, to make any use of it.
They fell behind for a third time on 23 minutes and the multi million sterling collection of superb talent from around the world never looked back. Adding a try from David Strettle on 27 minutes - after Parks provided them with an opportunity of a quick lineout by not finding a deep clearance to touch - to lead 13-6.
Then came the moment of madness from White. Pat Lam would later describe his attempt to ruck Brad Barret away from the ball as “reckless”, and it was. He caught the face of the Lions centre and he should have seen red, instead it was yellow but it was a key period. Saracens scored three tries during his absence. The first coming right at the end of the half and signaling the end for the visitors.
That try encapsulated all that was wrong about Connacht’s first half performance when the fixture was still a contest - for example, the visitors had a platform from a scrum that was winning penalties but every visit into Saracens territory ended with a needless turnover. Fionn Carr made a brilliant break, went to ground and recycled cleanly.
With ten seconds left in the half, down 7 points and to 14 men, the logical move by experienced heads might have been to play safe. Instead, Parks sent a ball infield for Andrew Browne to truck it up.
As had been happening all day, Connacht were incapable of cleaning out the breakdown, Mako Vunipola won the penalty and they had just enough time to kick to the corner, set the lineout, catch and drive over. The shenanigans that followed with fists flailing, reflects worse on Connacht then the home team. The game was done and they were lashing out.
Eight more tries followed after half time, but for some strangely erratic kicking from Charlie Hodgson, the scoreline would have been 90 + and it wouldn’t have flattered the home side. Connacht were horrendous at times, Andy Goode’s try where he received a kick on half way and sauntered home in the far corner is worth re-watching to highlight the ineptitude of the effort.
And all the while back in Dublin, the knives were being resharpened. An IRFU source hopped on the phone to Brendan Fanning in the Sunday Independent and said go. The next day it was announced that the province has debts of 900k. The story framed so as to exonerate the those within the union who hired the CEO and paid him. Rugby politics and journalism can defy logic sometimes.
That only goes to show that while the pay masters care not a jot about the on field results of the province, some in the background are looking for the chance to keep a tight rein on progress. So when Connacht play into their hands, life is made easier.
The conservative option was chosen on team selection and a scenario where the westerners had nothing to lose turned into one where they had a lot to lose. Had this result been bestowed on a team with Darragh Leader, Jack Carty and Mick Kearney in toe, lessons would have learned but all would certainly not feel lost.
Pat Lam understandably defended his policy afterwards, saying that the second half demonstrated why an attacking game plan, where they would have tried to play rugby would not have worked. We’ll never know though.
Progress halted, momentum dead. Two weekends free and then Glasgow away with the possibility of a return to square one back on the agenda. One wonders if any lessons have been learned.
Saracens: A Goode; C Ashton, D Taylor, B Barritt, D Strettle, C Hodgson, R Wigglesworth; M Vunipola, S Brits, M Stevens; S Borthwick, G Kruis, B Vunipola, K Brown, E Joubert.
Replacements: R Wigglesworth for de Kock, J George for Brits, C Wyles for Taylor and J Johnston for Stevens (all 50m), R Barrington for M Vunipola (55m), A Hargreaves for Kruis (58m), O Farrell for Hodgson (59m), J Wray for Brown (63m).
Connacht: Duffy; F Carr, R Henshaw, E Griffin, M Healy, D Parks, K Marmion; B Wilkinson, S Henry, N White; M Swift, C Clarke, A Browne, J Heenan, J Muldoon.
Replacements: J Harris-Wright for Henry (38m), D Buckley for Wilkinson (HT), J Carty for Parks, M Swift for Kearney and R Ah You for White (all 50m), G Naoupu for Heenan and D Leader for Henshaw (59m), P O’Donohoe for Carr (63m).
Referee: Leighton Hodges.
Rob Murphy covers Connacht rugby for the Connacht Tribune and Sentinel, Galway Bay FM and is the creator of KnockON.ie.
