Win at Thomond Park inspired us, says Tiernan O’Halloran

Ask Connacht full-back Tiernan O’Halloran if, at the start of the season, he would have expected to be facing Leinster on Saturday in a top-of-the-table Pro 12 clash, and the answer is a no-brainer.

Seven years with the Connacht senior squad, O’Halloran, like most of his teammates, has had to be content with small incremental achievements, including the odd victory over Leinster. But not anymore.

“When we got the win over Munster in Thomond Park for the first time, there was a kind of hint that this was different, and that brought confidence to the lads,” he says. “And then, when we beat our points total in February, it was at that stage the realisation set in, that it was different to other seasons, and it was something special.”