Cullie Tucker: 'It's just been tiny margins at times that have cost us a fair amount of victories'

Tucker said that 15 bonus points is indicative of just how close they have been in so many games.

Fri, 25 Apr, 2025 - 16:34

John Fallon

Connacht interim head coach Cullie Tucker said that 15 bonus points — the most they have ever collected in a campaign — is indicative of just how close they have been in so many games in a season where they have won just five URC games but still remain in the hunt for qualification.

It’s been a decade and a half since Connacht finished a season with just five wins and back then that meant finishing bottom of the 10-team league in 2009-10 when they lost a dozen of their 18 games and drew one.

Connacht have lost 10 of their 15 league games this season and have run in 57 tries — six more than the entire campaign last year — but their concession of 53 (57 for the entire campaign a year ago) has left them fighting a rearguard action despite losing their last three league games.

But, unlike last season when they only picked up nine bonus points, they remain in contention as they prepare to play the Lions in Johannesburg this Saturday afternoon (3pm Irish time).

“The fact that we scored so many tries, the fact that we've had so many near-misses,” said Tucker. “Fifteen bonus points is by far the most of anyone.

“It's just been tiny margins at times that have cost us a fair amount of victories this year, unfortunately. Once a team is constantly creating and constantly winning a couple of points, you're only a millimetre or two off here and there. I know there are three games to go, but the character that I've seen since I came in as interim and the fight from the guys, I firmly believe the last three games, we're in a great place to push for playoffs.

“The mood is excellent, and to be honest, I think their attitude has been brilliant all the time. I wouldn't question that of any of them, but we've a good mood. We've a good work ethic in the camp at the moment, and everybody's looking forward to the game,” he added.

Tucker has made half a dozen changes to the side beaten 34-29 by the Stormers in Cape Town last weekend.

Two of the changes are at the back with Shayne Bolton back from injury coming on to the right wing for Chay Mullins, while Matthew Devine starts at scrum-half in place of Ben Murphy, with Colm Reilly providing cover on the bench.

Up front, Dylan Tierney-Martin starts at hooker instead of Dave Heffernan with Eoin de Buitléar, out for the past two months after thumb surgery, providing cover.

There is a new second row of Josh Murphy and Joe Joyce, who take over from Oisin Dowling and Darragh Murray, while in the back row Sean Jansen comes in for Paul Boyle.

Dowling and Boyle are included on a bench with a 5-3 split, with Hugh Gavin back from injury to cover several backline positions along with Santiago Cordero.

The Lions, needing maximum points from their three remaining games and needing a plethora of unlikely results to go their way to stay in the competition, have made several changes to the side which went down 42-31 at home to Benetton.

The Lions, on a four-match losing run, have never finished in the top half of the table since the big four South Africans sides came into the league four years ago and are trying to salvage something from a season where they have actually won one more game than Connacht but are four points adrift of them going into this contest.

Lions: Q Horn; R Kriel, H van Wyk, B Mills, E van der Merwe; K Wolhuter, M van den Berg; J Cairns, R du Plessis, JC Pretorius, R Delport, R Schoeman, A Ntlabakanye, J Visagie, M Naude. Replacements: PJ Botha, SJ Kotze, RF Schoeman, D Landsberg, I Esterhuizen, N Steyn, L Dobela, R Jonker.

Connacht: P O’Conor; S Bolton, D Hawkshaw, C Forde, S Jennings; J Carty, M Devine; P Dooley, D Heffernan, F Bealham; J Murphy, J Joyce; C Prendergast, C Oliver, S Jansen. Replacements: E de Buitléar, J Duggan, S Illo, O Dowling, P Boyle, C Reilly, H Gavin, S Cordero.

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland).