Cardiff 19

Connacht 28

By JOHN FALLON IN CARDIFF

IT’S amazing how quickly fortunes can swing in sport. A demoralising home defeat to Ulster at the Connacht’s superb run in Challenge Cup continues

end of December, their third loss in a row without a point, left Connacht’s URC hopes in tatters and with very little to look forward to for the second half of their season.

Their poor on-field performances were in direct contrast to the €40m development of the Sportsground which is rising to the skies, but now two wins in the Challenge Cup and suddenly the prospects for the remainder of the season are upbeat with a realistic chance of claiming silverware for only the second time in the club’s history.

Previous results over the past three decades have shown that home advantage is key in knockout European rugby — and Connacht, after a flawless pool campaign that has seen them pick up maximum points from four games — are guaranteed that in all three knockout games to the final if they can make it that far to the decider in Cardiff in May.

That may throw up the prospect of returning to MacHale Park in Castlebar — where all 25,000 tickets have been sold for a league game in March — for a semi-final, or maybe crossing the city for an historic game in Pearse Stadium? The ongoing work at what is now called Dexcom Stadium would surely make it impossible to stage a European semi-final there while it’s a building site.

Of course, Connacht would have to win a couple of knockout games before that would come into play but, even at this remove, they must fancy their chances of repeating this win over Cardiff in the round of 16, while they would also fancy their chances of taking out Perpignan or Racing 92 in the quarter-finals, with neither French side likely to show much appetite for a trip to Galway at that stage of the season.

It’s only the second time in history that Connacht have won all pool games — they won six in the 2009-10 season when they bowed out in the semi-finals — and they were good value for their win.

“It’s a big year for the club,” said head coach Pete Wilkins. “There’s no doubt about that in terms of the development of Dexcom and seeing the building come up around us. Obviously, now with the opportunity we’ve got in the Challenge Cup, we set ourselves up for that.

Pictured: Connacht’s Piers O’Conor on the attack against Cardiff Blues in Friday’s European Challenge Cup tie at Cardiff Arms Park.