Connacht cup hopes simply washed away

Biarritz Olympique 17 Connacht 0

Biarritz responded to last weekend’s defeat at the Sportsground and the sacking of their two coaches with a solid performance, while Connacht, with new chief executive Tom Sears at loggerheads with Leinster over Mike McCarthy’s defection, simply failed to deal with the miserable conditions at Parc des Sports Aguilera.

It was an appalling pitch on which the match took place, with waterlogged sections being swept to the sidelines prior to kick-off. Indeed, the match was in doubt until the starting whistle but one has to wonder how it ever got played. But in such trying conditions, it was the home side, driven by a huge pack, that adapted better.