Naughton: Mindset shift has paid dividend for Connacht

The Kildare native will next season start his first professional contract after three years in the academy.

Sean Naughton at Connacht training in Dexcom Stadium. Pic: Tom O’Hanlon, Inpho

Sean Naughton was only 11 when Connacht last won six games in a row but having nailed half a dozen victories he’s hopeful they can push from there, starting on Saturday in Montpellier in the Challenge Cup quarter-final.

Connacht’s Pro12 winning season in 2016 was the last time they were on this sort of run — they did seven and eight wins in a row in that unforgettable campaign — and the emergence of Naughton this season has played a significant role in that.

The Kildare native who honed his skills in Kilkenny College is one of the academy players who has thrived under Stuart Lancaster and next season will start his first professional contract after three years in the academy.

The versatile 21-year-old, comfortable at fullback or outhalf or wherever else he is needed, is enjoying a great breakthrough season having initially made his debut in the Challenge Cup against Zebre last season.

He was on the bench last weekend against Sharks and was drafted much earlier than anticipated when outhald Josh Ioane went off with a head injury after 18 minutes.

“Obviously being on the bench, you kind of expect to come on later on the game but you're always ready to come on early,” said Naughton, “The first half wasn't pretty all the time. Probably a bit windier than we expected. But I thought we dealt with it really well and then we kicked on in the second half and it was really enjoyable.” 

He doesn’t want the winning run to stop and says the momentum gained from it is driving the squad.

“It obviously feels great but now we're just focused on the next one. Seven-in-a-row is better than six-in-a-row and so on. It's obviously great to build momentum but ultimately come one day we're back to zero again and we go again.” 

He said that a shift in mindset since Christmas has paid huge dividends and brought them into contention both in Europe and the URC.

“I think it's probably our mindset. Certainly I feel like it's not a game of being perfect but it's a game of how fast can you get back to what's important now.

“I feel like when everyone's on that same page, you're going to make mistakes, the game's not going to be perfect but the teams that are faster at getting back to their next job are certainly the teams that dominate. I feel like that's an area that we've grown much better in. From my perspective, that's probably it,” he added.