Gerry Thornley: Andy Friend has played his part as Connacht continue to defy the odds out west

Last week a Welsh colleague recalled covering his first game in the Sportsground between Connacht and one of the Welsh clubs in the late 90s in the traditional Saturday afternoon slot. As the crowd filed away, he remembered that there were vastly more spectators coming into the ground for the evening greyhound meeting.

And that’s how it was all right, for many years.

Last Saturday night, after a sodden day in the west, there was a near full house of 5,322 to witness Connacht beating Cardiff by 38-19 and so secure a top eight place in the United Rugby Championship, and with that a place in the knock-out stages.

No matter what way you look at it, no team in the URC has punched above its weight more this season than Connacht.

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Dan McFarland has a point when he says the demographics favour Leinster, and with their production line of ready-made professionals, which is helped significantly by private schools who have made significant investments in their rugby programmes, coaching and facilities.

The late Munster chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald used to maintain that, with regard to the demographics, it was a minor miracle that Munster actually punched above Leinster for much of the 90s and Noughties.

Inspired to usurp Munster, that doesn’t take away from a brilliantly run Leinster machine which has punched above its weight against heavyweight Top 14 clubs, and until recently a few from the Premiership, most notably the Saracens team which beat them in the 2019 final and the 2020 quarter-finals at an empty Aviva when they were facing relegation as a consequence of breaching the salary cap.

All of which makes the bleatings about the current salary cap across the water and notably by the Leicester stand-in head coach Richie Wigglesworth, a former Saracens scrumhalf, somewhat rich, as it were. Nor is it Leinster’s fault that English clubs spent beyond their means while they and the IRFU (without benefactors) ran a tighter ship.

The Welsh clubs are also going through a tough time of it. While the Dragons’ budget has been very akin to Connacht’s, the Scarlets are dropping from €9 million-plus, Cardiff from €8.8 million and the Ospreys from circa €8 million to the kind of spending power which is Connacht’s norm, circa €5 million. In the URC this probably only exceeds Zebre Parma, who’ve lost all 17 games so far.

Like their supporter base and stadium, Connacht’s playing budget is about half that of Munster and Ulster, and less again compared to Leinster, where €10 million is a widely quoted figure. That is swelled by the IRFU centrally contracting more of their players and the private backing which helped build their high-performance centre at UCD.

But under Willie Ruane, Connacht run a good ship. Before this season they always kept the Sportsground playing surface in excellent nick – not least considering its proximity to the Atlantic. But the installation of their 4G pitch also means their players can train there full-time rather than a cut-up back pitch.

Hence, they have been able to hone their catch, pass and kicking skills on the pitch where their game has flourished this season. Only Leinster, by 10-0, and Ulster, by 22-20, have beaten them there.

Acquiring Mack Hansen proved to be a master stroke, and quickly extending that deal was typically sharp too, while the acquisition of Santiago Cordero for next season was an eye-catching statement of intent.

This has actually been Connacht’s best season outside the memorable Pro12 success of 2015-16. Indeed, their haul of 62 tries from 17 games is now within two of the season-high record by the province in that 2015-16 campaign, when Connacht played 24 games.

Overall, history will judge Andy Friend well, not least in Connacht having their most consistently competitive period ever. Ultimately, he stayed five years, two longer than anywhere else in his nomadic career. The west does that. Connacht gets buy-in. It’s why Finlay Bealham and his wife Sinead will retire and live in Galway, as Niyi Adeolokun and his wife Orlaith are doing, and many more besides.

[ ‘I’ve never turned back’: Finlay Bealham on realising his life’s ambition in Ireland ]

In those five seasons, Friend never presided over a losing Pro14 or URC campaign, and (thanks to Craggy Rugby for this by the way) Connacht have had a 53 per cent winning ratio (with 47 victories and 41 defeats). Against non-Irish sides this rises to 70 per cent (38 wins against 16 losses), whereas in derbies it’s 34 per cent (nine wins and 25 defeats).

This underlines the inequity of Connacht being the only side who have to face Leinster, Munster and Ulster twice in the ‘Irish Shield’. By contrast Cardiff and the Welsh sides play the Irish provinces once apiece and each other twice. Likewise the Scottish duo, who also face the Italian sides home and away.

Yet the WRU and SRU voted in favour of the four Shield winners being granted safe passage into the Champions Cup, regardless of their overall standing.

Hence Cardiff, sitting 11th in the table, 10 points and five places behind Connacht, will secure Champions Cup qualification if they obtain so much as one bonus point in the second of next Saturday’s ‘Judgement Day’ double-header.

All of which makes their mid-game complaint last Saturday via their official Twitter feed about ‘Irish officiating’ (and when the referee was Scottish) even more laughable.

There also remains the possibility of Benetton or the Scarlets winning the Challenge Cup and claiming another Champions Cup place. So, despite their outstanding win away to the Stormers, technically Munster could be edged down to seventh place were the Bulls to beat Leinster with a bonus point and Munster lose without a bonus point against the Sharks: ie, they may yet need another point, albeit they’ll be targeting a win and fifth place.

For their part, Connacht may well need a win away to Glasgow next Saturday to ensure Champions Cup qualification. No less than Munster, reaching the Champions Cup increases income, boosts the brand and provides players with the more meaningful Test shop window. The Challenge Cup, as Connacht know better than anyone, is more out of sight and out of mind.

From next season onwards, the Champions Cup qualifiers from the URC will be merit based. No more ring-fencing the weaker Shield winners. By rights Connacht (and Munster) should already have done enough.

It seems like the fates are always conspiring against them, much like the demographics. But Connacht keep defying them.

gerry.thornley@irishtimes.com