Connacht let their self-doubt sink them

FOR originality, this probably rates a zero, but there were two ways of looking at this Ravenhill interprovincial: Connacht lost it or Ulster won it. Each had a certain validity.

Taking the former scenario first - and Connacht will be kicking themselves all the way back to Galway, or whatever far-flung parts of Ireland they returned - to the visitors most definitely had the winning of this game.

Painstakingly, Connacht's pack had laid the foundations for an auspicious comeback from 16-5 down to lead 20-16 toward the end of the third quarter with a strong breeze in their backs. Tactically, and maybe even mentally, they then let go of the reins.

Instead of kicking for position and hemming Ulster in, Eric Elwood ran the ball on half-way and Connacht turned over possession in midfieid.

When Ulster stole the lead back, a hint of desperation crept into Connacht's play. They could sense that their hard-won initiative was being frittered away. Scrum-half Conor McGuinness, who had a fine game, kicked out on the full. A couple of key tackles were missed, notably one by Nigel Carolan in midfield on Mark McCall, in the preamble to the 67th minute try by Stuart Duncan which made it 26-21 and began to put the game out of Connacht's reach.

This is not to saddle Elwood, McGuinness or Caroian with undue blame. As much as anything, it was a collective loss of will and belief. Suddenly Connacht couldn't buy a ball out of touch or in the loose. They started standing off and waiting to make their tackles on the Ulster runners, instead of knocking them back over the gain line. They were slower to the breakdown, and looked threadbare whenever stretched wide.

By the time Connacht picked themselves up and stopped playing on the back foot, Elwood releasing Dermot Finnegan and then supporting the winger for a last minute try, the game had gone past them.

It was a frustrating finale to a generally improved, more focused performance by Connacht. They started excellently, McGuinness dexterously releasing Brian Carey, a promising prospect who had a fine game, for an early try. The pack rucked well, probably edging it for much of the first hour. As Ulster lost their way with countless turnovers in the third quarter, Connacht played it tight and confidently.

That they let it go (or Ulster wrested it from them) could be seen as a mental thing. None of these Connacht players had ever experienced a win over Ulster. and none had been born when the province last won in Ravenhill 37 years ago.

Speaking on BBC's Radio Five Live at lunchtime on Saturday, Graeme Souness reckoned Rangers would pip Celtic for the Scottish league because they have an inner belief born out of a winning habit. The Celtic players didn't. Perhaps the same applied here.

A dispirited Warren Gatland, the new Connacht coach, accepted that was a possibility, but added an interesting rider. Maybe it's also an element of the refereeing. I'm very disappointed with the refereeing. Last week the penalty count went against us. This week the penalty count went against us. Just the bounce of the ball decisions went against us."

"He (referee Bertie Smith) missed a lot of things. I don't really get into referees but I can't see that there was only one team out there infringing the whole game. So maybe not just the players lack selfbelief, maybe the referees expect the one team to win as well, so they referee one side."

Gatland may be seeing only one side, and may be exaggerating things slightly. Rugby referees have an unenviable job, yet Bertie Smith did seem to spend more time refereeing Connacht than he did refereeing Ulster. The game was 21 minutes old by the time he awarded Connacht their first penalty, by which time Ulster had six.

However, all of this detracts from Ulster's winning of the game, for when it came to the crunch they upped themselves and the game to a gear seemingly beyond Connacht. All the while they had been more aware of the support runners, never leaving themselves isolated as Connacht sometimes did.

In that decisive spell, they won the line-outs, recycled quickly and exposed Connacht's vulnerability out wide by using their superior three-quarters. Duncan foraged hungrily, winning one crucial ball on the deck. Gary Longwell augmented his and Alan Robinson's line-out work with a big contribution around the pitch. Laing was polished at out-half and James Topping was the game's most menacing runner.

"It's an old cliche, isn't it. but we had to dig in and we did," said a satisfied, if relieved Ulster coach, Tony Russ, afterwards. He concedes that the old Ulster power up front is gone, and too many turnovers too often prevented them from applying sustained pressure. A more tailored 15-man game invariably has it's teething problems, but it had its highlights too and pulled Ulster through in the end.

Concluded Russ: "When we were down we showed enough guts and character and composure to win the game." Which about summed it up really. Or at least half the story.