By JOHN FALLON

HEAD Coach Stuart Lancaster admitted it was a pity that a brave Connacht effort didn’t yield a win over Leinster to make the official opening of the redeveloped Dexcom Stadium last Saturday, but he said it now makes this weekend’s trip to Italy to take on bottom of the table Zebre even more important.

Connacht are only two places about the Parma side with just two wins from nine games, but they are just five points adrift of the play-off places and have a game in hand over some of the other challengers.

Lancaster said they can’t allow a hangover after the emotional high of Saturday night when a record 12,481 turned out for the official opening of the splendid new Clan Stand.

He said they have to put that occasion behind them and he has no doubt what they need to do. “Well, you roll your sleeves up and you don’t allow anyone to feel sorry for themselves for a start. And you impress on the players that we’re not here just to compete. We want to win. So, I’m not interested in putting on a good spectacle.

“We want to win rugby games and we have to have that mentality and, if that comes from me, then that comes from me and I’ll drive that within the group and make sure that they have that mindset going into Zebre away.

“It’s a critical game for us now because our goal is to make the top eight and ‘nearly’ is not good enough.”

The former Leinster senior coach said there were a lot of positives from Saturday’s display but they need to start getting wins.

“I thought the emotional energy that the players brought was good, and lots of good individual performances within that. We have got good players to come back in the second half of the season as well, which makes a big difference.

“So, there’s lots of positives you can take, but ultimately, we still lost and that’s the thing that probably is the overriding emotion at the moment.”

He praised the fans for creating a really special occasion and has no doubt they will be back for more.

“They’ll stay behind us because they can see there’s a team growing and they know that we have a period of transition taking place. We’ve got some great Connacht stalwarts who are coming to the end of their careers and we’ve got some great young lads coming through.

“So when you build a stadium, you’ve got to start at the bottom and build some strong foundations and I feel we’re building those, but it doesn’t lessen the pain of defeat because you want to win in the here and now and build for the future at the same time. I’m not interested in just building for the future.”

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen said he was very impressed by the new facilities and knew that Connacht would throw everything at them.

“We knew it was going to be a huge occasion because it’s been in the calendar here for a long time,” said Cullen. “We know we’re coming down to a pretty hostile environment against a team that’s going to be hugely motivated against a lot of lads that know the group well.”

Pictured: A general view of a scrum in front of the newly opened Clan Stand during the United Rugby Championship match between Connacht and Leinster at Dexcom Stadium last Saturday. Photo: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile.