Connacht keen to honour Head Coach and McPhilipps with win over Scarlets

Stephen Glennon

CITY TRIBUNE

FULL-back Tiernan O’Halloran believes a victory over Scarlets in Connacht’s final home Pro12 game of the season would be a fitting send-off for the province’s head coach Pat Lam and his assistant Conor McPhillips, both of whom depart at the end of this campaign.

With Lam, who impressively guided the Westerners to the Pro12 title last May, and McPhillips set to head up the coaching staff at Bristol Rugby next season, Saturday game against Scarlets at the Sportsground (7:35pm) should prove to be an emotional occasion for all concerned, particularly given this could be the last time Connacht will field at home during the current campaign.

It is possible, of course, that should Connacht finish eighth in the Pro12 table, and win their subsequent playoff game against English opposition, that they could then have a home play-off to get into next season’s Champions Cup.

This would not happen, however, if they finished in seventh and, so, this could be the only time Connacht players and supporters can show their appreciation for Lam and McPhillips. It is not lost on O’Halloran.

“There is a massive appreciation for the work the lads have done,” he says. “Obviously, Conor has been here for a long time, being a past player as well. Even though he wasn’t our official backs coach, he would have done a lot of our attack work with the backs and it was a reason we functioned so well.

“So, there is a lot of appreciation for the work the lads have done and there is definitely that respect. As a collective, we would definitely like to show massive appreciation for the work the lads have done. We are kind of hoping though to have another game at home, but we will have to wait to see how results go.”

For McPhillips part, he says he is not giving the occasion too much thought as he is fully focused on preparing the players for Scarlets. “To be honest, I haven’t thought about it like that. You don’t get time to think about it at the start of the week because you are game planning and stuff like that.

“I am here a long time though and there are a lot of good people here. I am leaving a place which has changed so much since I first came at the start (of the professional era). So, it has been a pleasure to be here and it will be emotional,” confesses McPhillips, who played with the province between 2003 and 2008 before taking up a coaching role.

No doubt, McPhillips would love to conclude his time at Connacht with a home win but he says that in order for that to happen, the Westerners must improve on recent performances, especially in executing their try-scoring opportunities.

Indeed, he acknowledges it is frustrating. “We just didn’t take those opportunities. Obviously, we would be disappointed if we weren’t creating opportunities and we didn’t have all this but at the same time we need to execute them. That has been the big emphasis since Leinster.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.