Heroic Connacht left to rue letting champs off the hook

Published: 19 May 2023

From this week's Galway City Tribune

Author: Our Reporter
~ 3 minutes read

From this week's Galway City Tribune

Heroic Connacht left to rue letting champs off the hook

Stormers 43

Connacht 25

By JOHN FALLON

THE Andy Friend era in charge of Connacht came to an end in Cape Town but only after a brave performance which threatened to send the champions packing in a URC semi-final that fluctuated wildly.

The Australian bowed out after five years in charge knowing that the greatest scalp of his time in charge slipped from their grasp.

A possession of 71% in Connacht’s favour illustrated why they will feel this was a golden opportunity let slip, with the Stormers making 179 tackles to 59 for the visitors at DHL Stadium.

But the Stormers showed Connacht how to finish chances, even if the final scoreline flattered them when they crossed for two tries in the closing three minutes to advance to the final for the second year in succession.

“It’s not the way we would have wanted it to end but at 77 minutes we are six points behind and I honestly felt we were going to sneak it,” said Friend.

“It was a tit for tat sort of a game, I think in the end the best team won but what a brilliant occasion for our blokes. For a lot of our fellas, that’s their first time playing on that sort of big stage like that and I thought we ran the defending champions pretty close. I don’t think the scoreline in the end is reflective.”

The relieved facial expression of their coach John Dobson in the stand showed how far they had to dig to see off Connacht, not least when the visitors cut the gap to six points with five minutes remaining.

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

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.

Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.