Andy Friend urges Connacht to play without fear in Paris

Connacht head coach Andy Friend. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

When Connacht stunned Toulouse seven years ago, coach Pat Lam said that the most difficult thing in the buildup was getting the players to believe that they could go to the home of the four-time champions and turn them over.

It’s easy to see why there would have been some doubts in the players’ minds. The previous week they had been thrashed 43-10 in Edinburgh, their fourth league loss in a row, but Lam convinced them they could scale mountains and they shocked Toulouse 16-14.