'I can’t remember one like this ... that was special’

Andy Friend has coached all over the world but even he couldn’t recall a more madcap win than that which his men forged in a dramatic finish at the Sportsground on Saturday.

The never-say-die spirit he has drilled into his side saw them come from 24-13 down with four minutes remaining to score two converted tries and keep their slender Heineken Champions Cup hopes alive.

“I can’t remember one like this, to be honest. They tend to blur a little bit but that was pretty special. It is a compliment to the boys out there for sticking to it, holding their nerve and managing to get across the line.”

He knows it may not be enough to secure a first-ever quarter-final spot in the competition but the immediate benefit will come in the three inter-pro derbies over thefestive period, starting next Saturday in Galway against Munster.

“It gets you back into winning ways and reinforces when we do the simple things well, and back ourselves, we can score amazing tries and hold out good teams as well.

“There were some really good things there. Some of our lineout defence was outstanding, we stole a few very good lineouts against quality opposition.

“Our scrum, when we needed to stand up, it did. Some of our maul stuff, our strike-plays were very good. There was a lot to like in that. As a coaching group we tend to then focus on those positive things that we have done. We tend to reinforce that with messages to these blokes, that we have seen the good things that they are doing.

“To go into Munster, and those inter-pros, really important that we got that win and we can show that stuff and build on that.”

Connacht led 10-7 at the break, having played with the wind in front of a crowd of 6,787, with Caoloin Blade getting in for a try eight minutes from the break after a sustained bout of pressure with Gloucester hooker Todd Cleave in the bin.

Conor Fitzgerald converted to add to an earlier penalty but a try from impressive former Munster lock Gerbrandt Grobler cut the gap.

An intercept try by Mark Atkinson when he pinched Kyle Godwin’s pass edged Gloucester in 12-10 in front after 51 minutes but Billy Twelvetrees somehow missed the easy conversion.

However, he landed another touchline effort after Gloucester captain Lewis Ludlow scored in the right corner after superb work by Jamal Forde-Robinson, Louis Rees-Zammit, and Callum Braley.

And when Atkinson grabbed his second try 10 minutes from time after a counter-attack from deep led by Ollie Thorley when Connacht out-half Fitzgerald failed to find touch with a penalty, that should have been enough to seal the win for the visitors.

Connacht, though, had other ideas and with Bundee Aki producing a storming finish, they conjured a remarkable win with two converted tries in the closing four minutes to keep their slender quarter-final hopes alive.

Replacement hooker Shane Delahunt got the ball rolling when he drove over three minutes from time after a penalty to the right corner.

Connacht gathered the restart but struggled to get out of their own half. They never panicked and inched their way forward before replacement scrum-half Stephen Kerins put Tom Daly away and he made the necessary ground to create the overlap and send Robin Copeland over for his first try for Connacht and snatch a first win over Gloucester in seven meetings.

“If we want to go any further we have got to get two bonus-point wins. That is a no-brainer. That will be our intention.

In the meantime, we have Munster and Ulster and Leinster which is a pretty big ask and something we are looking forward to. Everyone gets up for those. But we are starting to become a team that just gets up when we pull on the jersey. That is what we want to do.

Scorers for Connacht: Tries: C Blade, S Delahunt, R Copeland; Cons: C Fitzgerald (3); Pens: C Fitzgerald (2).

Scorers for Gloucester: Tries: G Grobler, M Atkinson (2), L Ludlow; Cons: B Twelvetrees (2).

CONNACHT: J Carty; N Adeolokun, K Godwin, B Aki, J Porch; C Fitzgerald, C Blade; P McCabe, D Heffernan, D Robertson-McCoy; U Dillane, J Maksymiw; E McKeon, J Butler, P Boyle.

Replacements: T Daly for Adeolokun (23), D Buckley for McCabe (42), F Bealham for Robertson-McCoy (52), S Kerins for Blade (64), E Masterson for McKeon (66), S Delahunt for Heffernan (72), N Murray for Maksymiw (72), R Copeland for Boyle (72).

GLOUCESTER: M Banahan; L Rees-Zammit, B Twelvetrees, M Atkinson, O Thorley; L Evans, C Braley; J Hohneck, T Gleave, F Balmain; A Craig, G Grobler; F Clarke, L Ludlow, R Ackermann.

Replacements: F Mostert for Craig (25), F Marais for Rees-Zammit (29), Craig for Mostert (36), Rees-Zammit for Marais (39), J Ford-Robinson for Balmain (46), B Morgan for Ackermann (64), A Hinkley for Clarke (64), Marais for Gleave (66), A Seville for Hohneck (72), J Simpson for Braley (72), C Harris for Atkinson (76).

Referee: Romain Poite (France).