Connacht draw short straw again in bid to end losing streak

CONNACHT bid to end their worst losing run since the game went professional over a decade and a half ago when they take on the Dragons at Rodney Parade this evening. (7.35pm).

Connacht’s 30-8 defeat by Leinster was their eighth competitive loss in a row and this evening in Newport will bid to win their first match since October.

The only solace was a friendly win over Samoa, while Connacht’s clash at the Sportsground in early December with Italian newcomers Aironi, who have lost all 11 games to date, fell victim to the weather when Eric Elwood’s men would have expected to win.

Connacht have twice lost seven games on the spin. The first such losing sequence came from December 2006 to March 2007. They lost five in a row at the end of the 2007/08 season. and then suffered defeats in the opening two games of the 2008/09 campaign.

Connacht’s worst run in the Magners League was a nine-match losing run from September to December 2005, but that sequence was interrupted by a brace of wins in the Amlin Challenge Cup.

Now Elwood sends out a team for the third time in 11 days as the smallest squad in the competition faces another five-day turnaround which has left the Connacht coach livid.

“We have already gone to Wales for a Thursday night match. That time they said it was because of the Ryder Cup, now we are told it is because of television. We have tried to have the game switched but that has not been possible so now we will just get on with, go over there and give it everything,” said Elwood.

He is frustrated with the losing run but knows they have been competitive in most games and have picked up a string of losing bonus points.

“We were disappointed with the Leinster match. We did a lot of good things in the first 20 minutes but we didn’t take our chances. That’s been the story with us all season,” said Elwood.

There have been plenty of positives, not least the emergence of some very promising local players who have stepped forward.

Elwood paid tribute to the versatile lock and back-rower Andrew Browne, who is having a superb season.

And two products of the Connacht Academy, outside centre Eoin Griffin and number eight Eoin McKeon, have also made a mark.

“It is great to see players like that coming through. They are three of our own young lads, so that is positive because we have always said that if they are good enough they will get their opportunity,” said Elwood.

All three are included in the starting side this evening, with Connacht also boosted by the return of Irish hooker Sean Cronin after missing the game against Leinster — who he is due to join next season — as part of the IRFU player welfare programme.

Connacht’s best performance of the season came against the Dragons on the opening day of the season when they ran in four tries to give Elwood’s coaching career the perfect start.

But, while Fionn Carr notched a hat-trick in the heartbreaking defeat away to Scarlets a week later, the tries have dried up since with Connacht managing just six in nine games.

The Dragons are two points above Connacht in the table but Elwood is fearful of a backlash from the Welsh after that opening day 40-17 win.

The Dragons have decided not to bring Welsh centre Matthew Watkins into action for the first time this season after recovering from injury, but have included new signing, US scrum-half Mike Petri, on the bench where he joins the experienced Luke Chateris as the Welsh side make a number of changes.

CONNACHT: I Keatley; T Nathan, E Griffin, K Matthews, F Carr; M Nikora, C Willis; B Wilkinson, S Cronin, J Hagan; M Swift, M McCarthy; A Browne, J O’Connor, E McKeon.

Replacements: A Flavin, R Ah You, D Rogers, B Upton, M McComish, F Murphy, N Ta’auso, B Tuohy.

DRAGONS: W Harries; A Hughes, T Riley, A Smith, A Brew; J Tovey, J Evans; H Gustafson, T Willis (c), B Castle; A Jones, R Sidoli; L Evans, G Thomas, T Faletau.

Replacements: S Jones, P Palmer, P Price, L Charteris, A Coombs, M Jones, M Petri, P Leach.