Good news on the Connacht Rugby front is the likely return of a host of frontline players ahead of the visit of Pat Lam’s Bristol on Friday.
Internationals Bundee Aki and Finlay Bealham are available and are likely starters for this final Champions Cup pool fixture, in addition to scrumhalf Caolin Blade. Centre Cathal Forde, who missed the trip to France, has resumed training following a shoulder injury and continues to be monitored, but Jack Aungier (illness) and Dylan Tierney Martin (neck) remain doubtful.
Unavailable are John Porch (knee), Shane Jennings (ankle) and Oisin McCormack (thigh), while continuing to rehab are Paul Boyle (face), Santiago Cordero (knee) Diarmuid Kilgallen (hamstring), Sean O’Brien (foot) Colm Reilly (ankle) and Sean Jansen, who is being assessed for an injury to his AC joint in his shoulder.
On the back of Connacht’s loss to Lyon in the Invested Champions Cup clash in France, head coach Pete Wilkins says there was an overriding feeling of frustration.
[ Connacht left with fight to keep European hopes alive after Lyon defeatOpens in new window ]
“We felt we had enough opportunities, in that we had a plan, and we had enough hope to get what would have been a really big win, and maybe a surprising win for some outside, but one we were really going after. At the same time there is a realism that Lyon thoroughly deserved to win it, not just how they played, but the consistency of the good bits they put into the game versus the inconsistency of what we put into the game,” he says.
A game that was always going to be tough, it was made more difficult with Lyon enjoying 60 per cent of possession and almost 75 per cent of territory.
“We have won games with only 40 per cent possession, and we can still play and hurt them, but at Champions Cup level and on the back end of territory and possession, it comes very hard.
“We had some good moments, but not enough consistency of them, and Lyon obviously had the platform to do what they did.”
Not helped by the absence of Aki and Bealham, Wilkins says selection is always tricky.
“On reflection we would have loved to have both of them, and used both of then. You weigh it up against possibly a really important game against Bristol, which it now is for different reasons, weighing it up to use them in some URC interpros where you don’t want to be going into those without them, so for me in that medium-term picture there is not a really good time to deload them.”
Wilkins is still hopeful Connacht can compete in the Challenge Cup.
“I think we have the depth on paper to be competing in the Challenge Cup, and also the URC, but all you need is a run of injuries in any one position.
“But the bottom line is we are ambitious, we want to progress in Europe, now it is the Challenge Cup and we still want to achieve. We would much rather be fighting on two fronts than just the one, so we have to make sure we put that into place this Friday night.”
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