Connacht aiming to consolidate position

EUROPEAN CHALLENGE CUP - Connacht v Worcester Warriors:CONNACHT HAVE arguably never been better placed at the halfway point of an Amlin Challenge Cup pool campaign since topping their group for the only time a dozen years ago.

After wins on the road against their two main rivals, backing up last week’s landmark win in Sixways at the Sportsground tonight will leave them in pole position.

Yet, because only the group winners progress in the revamped knockout format, and with Montpellier also having won away to Worcester, the likelihood is Michael Bradley’s team will have to win their three remaining games to progress and, in the process, earn a home quarter-final.

Given the last eight will also incorporate three of the Heineken Cup pool runners-up, that holds up all sorts of intriguing possibilities as to the potential visitors to the Sportsground in early April.

Bradley accepts that five wins may not be enough to ensure progress, though in truth the return meeting with Montpellier in Galway in the penultimate round of pool matches is now likely to be the more critical game than this one.

In any event, he accentuates the need for Connacht to focus on their own performance. “What we did last week was concentrate on our own game, when the lads took their opportunities and defended excellently, and the same formula will apply again for this game.

“Now we have home advantage and we have got to deal with them making changes, and back up our victory last week. Last week our priority was to win, so as to make it easier this week psychologically. We just have to capitalise on that now.”

Nor surprisingly, Connacht remain unchanged from the team that evoked the Warren Gatland era with a first win on English soil since the famous win over Northampton a dozen years ago, with impressive debutant George Naoupu retaining his place in the backrow and Fionn Carr looking to add to his nine tries this season.

Kieran Campbell comes in for the injured Conor O’Loughlin on the bench, while Adrian Flavin, who was forced to withdraw from the selected squad last weekend, returns in place of Dermot Murphy.

By contrast, as forewarned in the wake of their second home defeat in this pool, Mike Ruddock has rung the changes. In all he has made 10 changes in personnel, plus one positional, with the likes of club captain Pat Sanderson, leading scorer Willie Walker and fullback Chris Latham all rested.

Nevertheless, it says something about the comparative resources available to the two coaches that Ruddock can recall ex-All Blacks Rico Gear and Marcel Garvey, Munster destroyer-in-chief at Kingsholm for Gloucester seven years ago, on the wings.

Young outhalf Matthew Jones makes his first start of the season, with Ruddock stressing how much of an opportunity this is for fringe first-team players.

“It’s up to them to put a selection headache my way,” said the former Leinster and Wales coach, adding: “We will have a lot of enthusiasm out in Connacht. It is a difficult place to win and difficult place to go.”

“I spoke to Paul Turner (Newport Gwent Dragons coach) the other day about his view on Connacht, to get into the mind of coaches who have prepared against them in recent times in the Magners League. He agreed that when you are playing away to Connacht it might be best to take players who have not faced them or have never lost to them.

“It can be a bit of a graveyard for big-name players over there, and he was keen to promote the fact that players who have never been there are a good option.”

Thus, Worcester are likely to field a team fairly free of expectations or pressure and, as history has shown in both competitions, any sign of encouragement in the opening exchanges can make such line-ups all the more dangerous.

Connacht’s task is to quickly disabuse them of any such notions.

CONNACHT:G Duffy; L Bibo, N Ta'auso, A Wynne, F Carr; I Keatley, F Murphy; B Wilkinson, S Cronin, R Morris; M McCarthy, B Upton; J Muldoon [capt], R Ofisa, G Naoupu. Replacements: A Flavin, R Loughney, J Hagan, M Swift, M McComish, K Campbell, M Nikora, T Nathan.

WORCESTER WARRIORS:C Pennell; M Garvey, A Grove, C MacRae, R Gear; M Jones, J Arr; A Black, C Fortey [capt], O Sourgens; K Kitchener, W Bowley; J Collins, J Abbott, M Cox. Replacements: J Page, J Gilding, T Taumoepeau, D Lyons, T Wood, O Frost, G King, D Rasmussen.

Referee:Pascal Gauzere (France).

Results so far:Connacht – 46-6 v Olympus Madrid (h); 22-19 v Montpellier (a); 26-21 v Worcester (h). Worcester – 17-22 v Montpellier (h); 38-5 v Olympus Madrid 38-5 (a); 21-26 v Connacht (h).

Leading points scorers:Connacht – Fionn Carr 25, Ian Keatley 22. Worcester – Willie Walker 23.

Leading try scorers:Connacht – Fionn Carr 5, N Ta'auso, Michael Swift 2 each. Worcester – Alex Grove, Miles Benjamin 2 each.

Betting (Paddy Power):4/11 Connacht, 20/1 Draw, 2/1 Worcester. Handicap odds (Worcester + 7pts) 10/11 Connacht, 20/1 Draw, 10/11 Worcester.

Forecast:Connacht to win.