A front-row seat to glimpse Ireland’s future
Munster staged a smash-and-grab raid in Galway to take the spoils in this RaboDirect Pro12 encounter of typically inter-provincial intensity. Having applied considerable pressure on the visitors for long periods, two defensive lapses from Connacht undid their good work and let in Simon Zebo and Tommy O’Donnell for second-half tries that propelled Munster back into second place in the table.
And while Elwood was left to rue a seventh losing bonus point of the season rather than the deserved four, there was some solace in the performances of his props Ronan Loughney and Brett Wilkinson.
Was it really just seven days previously that Ireland’s front-row nightmares came to realisation, when a first-half neck injury to tight-head Mike Ross was cruelly exploited by a dominant England scrum? Loughney’s head to head with Munster’s South African loosehead Wian du Preez in front of 7,022 fans at a sold-out Sportsgrounds on Saturday night made Twickenham, and Tom Court’s travails in the position against Alex Corbisiero, seem like a very far away time and place.
Loughney and Wilkinson’s toe to toe with Munster’s Springbok tighthead BJ Botha will have cheered Ireland head coach Kidney considerably as he looked on from his perch at the top of the Sportsgrounds’ main stand and will have done much to advance the Connacht men’s claims to seats on the three-Test tour to New Zealand in June.
“They’re doing a great job for us,” Elwood said.
“Wilko has been poking his nose through there with the Irish team all the time in squad sessions and to give credit to Ronan, he was a tighthead a few years ago and he transferred over to loosehead.
“Then we had a crisis and he played six or seven games on the bounce [at tighthead] and was terrific and he got his A cap and now he’s getting his name bandied around.
“So there’s a huge opportunity out there for Irish-qualified props and younger props coming through and we’re lucky that we’ve got two good Irish guys with us and we’re looking to hold onto them.”
Of the chances of Loughney and Wilkinson being selected for the New Zealand tour, Elwood added: “I would have to say that there’s probably every chance that there’s an opportunity for one if not both of them. The beauty of Ronan is that he covers both sides so that versatility for him is excellent.”
Connacht lock Mike McCarthy, a second-half replacement in the 30-9 shellacking at Twickenham the previous week, endorsed Elwood’s sentiment, adding: “The boys were great in the scrum today. Wilko and Loughs were brilliant so I hope [they tour].
“Everyone rates [Loughney] massively. He’s an unbelievably strong guy and he’s really mobile around the park as well.
“So it’s not just his scrummaging, he offers a lot around the park as well.
“I definitely rate him highly enough so, yes, I’d love to see him go. He’s still learning and he’s doing a good job and coming on loads.”
That praise is still Connacht’s only reward though. It’s the story of their season following another frustrating defeat that keeps Elwood’s side 10th in the 12-team league and five points adrift of ninth-placed Treviso.
Elwood had seen Connacht take a 10-6 half-time lead thanks to a try from Ethienne Reynecke from a lineout drive which followed a penalty arising from the sin-binning of Munster captain Mick O’Driscoll for an off-the-ball hold on the hooker. It was the opportunities that went begging through turnovers and penalties in the Munster 22 that hurt the home side, though, and when they allowed both Zebo and O’Donnell to waltz through for second-half scores off first-phase ball from lineouts Connacht engineered a way to shoot themselves in the foot.
“It is a learning process but it’s just getting a bit frustrating now, particularly when there’s a game that we should win but another one’s gone by, another one point not four,” Elwood said.
“Pats on the back are wearing a bit thin, it’s all about the four points.”
Munster full-back Felix Jones underlined Elwood’s feelings when he spoke of being “relieved” at the outcome.
“It was a hell of a game,” Jones said. “We weren’t happy with our loss to Aironi but we came out and were down at half-time and it could have gone on for something similar but the lads dug deep and got it done.
“Full credit to Connacht, it’s not an easy place to come and win and it could have gone either way.”
CONNACHT: G Duffy (capt); K Tonetti, E Griffin (M Jarvis, 69), H Fa’afili (D McSharry, 64), T O’Halloran; M Nikora, F Murphy; B Wilkinson, E Reynecke (A Flavin, 62), R Loughney (R Ah You, 64); M Swift, M McCarthy; M Kearney (E McKeon, 73), R Ofisa, J Muldoon.
MUNSTER: F Jones; D Hurley (L O’Dea, 67; S Deasy for O’Dea, 79), J Murphy, L Mafi, S Zebo; I Keatley, T O’Leary; W du Preez (M Horan, 55), D Varley (M Sherry, 55), BJ Botha; I Nagle (B Holland, 71), M O’Driscoll (capt); Dave O’Callaghan, D Wallace (T O’Donnell, ht), J Coughlan.
Referee: Neil Paterson (SRU).
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