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Connacht Rugby will be after an historic French double when they travel to one of the real fortresses of the Heineken Cup to face Basque outfit Biarritz Olympique at the intimidating Parc des Sports Aguilera. - 13/12/2012 10:29
Connacht Rugby will be after an historic French double when they travel to one of the real fortresses of the Heineken Cup to face Basque outfit Biarritz Olympique at the intimidating Parc des Sports Aguilera.
Connacht, the junior of the four Irish provinces, still have very real chances of reaching the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup after they beat Biarritz in the first game between the sides last weekend, a result that saw the club part company with their coaches Serge Milhas and Jack Isaac.
Connacht’s 22-14 victory at the Sportsground in Galway, with Dan Parks to the fore, was one of the shocks of the round and put them second behind favourites Harlequins to qualify from the Pool after three games.
The Irish province, who are in only in their second season of the Heineken Cup, have never reached the last eight of this competition but they have already taken the scalps of Quins last season and now Biarritz last weekend.
Biarritz, former Heineken Cup finalists, will want to salvage some pride after their shock defeat to the Irish side when they play in front of their home crowd on Friday evening.
The Top 14 outfit have become the great enigma of the Heineken Cup, proving they can cut it with the best sides in Europe but then being caught cold against teams they are expected to beat – like Connacht.
Biarritz know their chances of reaching a ninth quarter-final in European rugby’s premier tournament are probably over for this season but a win would mean they could still make an impact on this Pool.
Match Facts
• Connacht out half, Dan Parks, is now the leading points scorer this season in the Heineken Cup with 48 points.
• Biarritz have retained possession of the ball at 98% of the rucks and mauls they have contested this season, the best figure in the tournament.
• In Biarritz’ last nine matches, they have followed a defeat with a victory. Should this run continue, they will turn Connacht over this weekend.
• Connacht have won three of their last four Heineken Cup matches, after losing their first five straight in their debut season last year.
Sur un terrain gorgé d'eau à la limite du praticable
Biarritz Olympique pays Basque kept their hopes of knockout rugby alive with a hard-fought 17-0 win over Connacht on Friday night.
Biarritz bounced back from their 22-14 reverse to the same opposition at The Sportsground last time out to make it two wins from four games so far in Pool 3.
Defeat would have all but ended the Amlin Challenge Cup holders’ dream of going one better than their two previous Heineken Cup Finals appearances in 2006 and 2010 but victory at the Parc des Sports Aguilera does at least leave them in with a chance of progression to the quarter finals in 2013.
Conditions in the Basque Country were far from perfect, with heavy rain and a sodden playing surface making life difficult for both teams.
But it was Biarritz who dealt with the weather the better as they crossed for a try in either half and came close to a third only to see Taku Ngwenya fail to ground the ball when sliding for the line in the first half.
The hosts led 3-0 through a Dimitri Yachvili penalty after just two minutes but it took them until the half hour mark to cross the Connacht line when a well-worked backline move off scrum ball saw former England full back Iain Balshaw dive over out wide.
Yachvili defied the conditions to add a superb conversion from close to the left touchline and Biarritz were 10 points to the good.
The remainder of the game was an attritional affair due to the weather, with both sides showing no shortage of commitment but with Biarritz struggling to capitalize on their territorial dominance and Connacht unable to get off the mark.
Biarritz went close both through tight forward play and more adventurous options out wide but the score seemed destined to remain 10-0 until Seremai’a Burotu touched down with just 38 seconds remaining.
The Fijian replacement supplied a strong finish after Damien Traille’s initial kick through had been accompanied by a lucky deflection to put the gloss on a gutsy performance by a Biarritz side who were undoubtedly second best just a week earlier in Galway.
Yachvili’s second stunning conversion completed the scoring right on the final whistle to make it 17-0 and ensure there were a few more smiles on Basque faces after a turbulent few days in which coaches Jack Isaac and Serge Mihas both lost their jobs.
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