John Muldoon insists his Connacht men will rise to the challenge against Leinster

THE growing feeling in the west of Ireland that destiny is gazing favourably upon a Connacht team which has outperformed all expectations this season to reach tonight’s Guinness PRO12 Final at Murrayfield was reinforced by how preparations for the big match panned out yesterday.

While opponents Leinster were forced to leave out two influential players (after captain Isa Nacewa succumbed to an arm injury and second-row Devon Toner withdrew due to a family bereavement), Connacht were able to name an unchanged team for the first time this season.

On top of that, Leinster endured a frustratingly long-winded journey to the Scottish capital yesterday after their flight was delayed in Dublin and they then spent 20 minutes on the tarmac in Edinburgh before the squad could disembark.

Even the trip from the airport to Murrayfield was prolonged by a traffic accident.

By the time coach Leo Cullen and stand-in skipper Jamie Heaslip appeared at the pre-match press conference they were clearly tired and irritated.

In contrast, Pat Lam and John Muldoon were in fine fettle when they met the media an hour or so earlier – having wisely made the trip across the Irish Sea on Thursday.

This is an entirely new experience for their side, but rather than being cowed by the size of the occasion they are clearly determined to extract as much positive energy as possible from the excitement which surrounds their remarkable rise.

“We had a lovely send-off with lots of people out on the road, and a guard of honour at the airport, so it started building then. We’re just looking forward to getting on the pitch and enjoying the match,” said Muldoon

“There are lots of Connacht people coming over, from the province, the nearby counties, London, Manchester and so on.

“By hook or by crook they are getting here for the game, and it’s a big occasion for all them.

“One of the last things I said to the lads as we finished up the captain’s run is there is going to be maybe 50,000 people here, which will be a new experience for a lot of us, and the key is to listen and make sure you take everything in, but also make sure you don’t get overawed.”

Easier said than done, you would have thought. But Lam is in no doubt he and his team have done the necessary groundwork to be ready.

“I always like to work with the end in mind and the dream and the vision was we were going to be in situations like this. We like to set the standard of what we do as “international standard” so the transition is not that high a jump.

“We take every game and every week as a chance to grow and learn, and because of that process we have been able to have a normal week,” he explained.

“Yes, we are on uncharted territory compared to what Leinster have done in finals rugby, but when we look back at some of the experiences we’ve had this season – we had to beat Glasgow at home to get a home semi-final, then we had to win last week to be here, we had that European Challenge Cup quarter-final against Grenoble, and the Gloucester match last year – we took a lot of lessons out of all those games.

“After the Grenoble one we really tightened up our defence. All that will hold us in good stead.

“We know it’s a big game and there’s a lot going on around this, but ultimately it’s always about the rugby pitch and two teams playing rugby. If you channel all the emotion into that then you will have a great chance.”

“We’ve got a good understanding of what we need to do, and we’re ready to go.”

Leinster are on well-trodden ground, but having missed out on the play-offs last year, Heaslip insists there is no chance of them taking today’s match lightly.

“We’re going up against a side who for a long time this season have been the pacesetters for the league. We realise the challenge we face. We did not like missing out on the knockout stages last season, so hopefully we’ve learned a few things from that. As a club we’re constantly trying to grow. It is a massive test for this group of players,” he said.