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Connacht boss Pat Lam believes his team can avenge their defeat to Wasps in the second game of their European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 2 double header. - 14/12/2016 10:08
Connacht boss Pat Lam believes his team can avenge their defeat to Wasps in the second game of their European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 2 double header.
Wasps had to work hard to beat PRO12 champions Connacht 32-17 at the Ricoh Arena last weekend.
Dai Young’s men are in a good run of form, having won four of their last five games and with star Australian back Kurtley Beale now fit after a long period out injured.
That said, Lam reckons Connacht can win at the Galway Sportsground on Saturday.
He said: “We were not too far off Wasps and although this was a key game we’re still sitting second in the pool.
“I said before the game if we won one of the two games against Wasps we would have a great chance of getting through, and if we won both we would be pretty much there.
“So now we’re down to getting back in front of our own crowd, and if we can get a result we’ll be right back in contention. If we play how we can, we have a game plan that can win this, so it will come down to execution.”
Wasps are top of the group having racked up 134 points in the Champions Cup this season – more than any other club in the competition.
But Connacht are close behind as they trail Wasps by just three points. A win in Galway could see them leapfrog the Premiership heavyweights at the top of the pool.
Connacht’s defence of the PRO12 title has been disappointing, with Lam’s men languishing in eighth, 17 points behind leaders Munster.
And Lam knows his struggling squad will have to recover in time to face an in-form Wasps in what is a six-day turnaround.
He said: “Our squad is not the same size as theirs, so we need to have a light week where we concentrate on recovery.
“I’ll do my usual thing of highlighting the good things and the errors, but the boys are already talking about things we need to get better at. I know our line-out will be better on Saturday.”
Jack Carty snatched a dramatic 20-18 victory for Connacht over Wasps with the final kick of the game in a European Rugby Champions Cup classic at the Sportsground. - 17/12/2016 19:34
Jack Carty snatched a dramatic 20-18 victory for Connacht over Wasps with the final kick of the game in a European Rugby Champions Cup classic at the Sportsground.
The PRO12 champions looked dead and buried after Josh Bassett’s late score had given Wasps a five-point lead in the closing moments. But Naulia Dawai was shunted over the try-line from a late lineout maul to level the scores, before Carty landed the conversion from the out-wide to seal a famous triumph.
Joe Simpson had given the English side an early lead, but that was reined in by a Danie Poolman score and the boot of Jack Carty. Connacht have moved level at the top of Pool 2 after their Galway heroics.
Carty fired Connacht ahead with his second penalty attempt after Wasps held-on at a ruck. But it did not take long for last season’s semi-finalists to hit the front. Thomas Young made the initial break in midfield before finding his back-row colleague Nathan Hughes. He charged towards the line but was stopped short by Kieran Marmion, but Simpson scooped up the ball to score.
Jimmy Gopperth landed the conversion to make it 7-3 before Connacht full-back Tiernan O’Halloran was sent to the sin-bin following a build-up of penalties close to their try-line. But Bundee Aki latched onto Matt Healy’s offload to charge 50 metres downfield and put his side on the front-foot.
Ultan Dillane knocked on after a spell of heavy pressure, but referee Jerome Garces brought it back for a penalty, which Carty kicked to pull Connacht back within a point. And it got even better for the hosts on the stroke of half-time. Carty took the ball at first receiver and picked out replacement wing Poolman with a perfectly weighted cross-kick to score. The outside-half then landed the touchline conversion to give his side a 13-7 half-time lead.
Gopperth cut the gap to three points with a penalty 15 minutes into the second period, but missed the chance to level the scores on the hour mark. He made no mistake from right in-front of the posts moments later though to make it 13-13.
And Wasps showed their title credentials six minutes from time. Their powerful pack shunted Connacht off their own ball before Dan Robson picked up the ball and found Bassett with a perfectly weighted cut-out pass, and the wing finished well. But Connacht showed their fighting spirit to drive Dawai over the line to level the scores. And Carty stepped up to dramatically snatch a 20-18 victory at the death.
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