Connacht Save the Best Till Last

Thrilled Connacht plaers react to the final whistle image:zimbio.com

Connacht’s Heineken Cup destiny is in the hands of the rugby gods but last night they showed Europe what it will be missing without them. In the build up to the match, coaches and players spoke of their desire to go out of the competition in glory for their supporters as much as themselves. If this was to be their last game in the competition they were determined to win

Right from the start they brought passion and intensity to the match. The fight and spirit which burns inside this province, was illuminated by their courageous and defiant performance from the moment Nigel Owens blew the first whistle. The hits went in hard and determined. They fought for possession on the floor with the wind swirling all around them, driving the rain across the pitch. The Heineken Cup finally experienced what rugby in Connacht is all about.

The score was nine points to eight with ten minutes to go. As the clock slowly moved towards 80 minutes the tension levels all around the ground rose ever higher. Every second seemed like an eternity. Supporters yelled out instructions to the tired players to stick it up their jumper and play for the corners. The referee was encouraged to blow the full time whistle with five minutes still on the clock.

Everyone had been here before. The story of Connacht in the Heineken Cup has been dominated by agonisingly close defeats. Another one last night would have left them bereft and heart broken. Surely the rugby gods would spare them this agony.

When the shrill blast of the referee’s whistle pierced the air with thirty seconds to go everyone held their breath anxiously awaiting his decision. Penalty Connacht! The deafening roar of the crowd greeted this pronouncement as if it were the final whistle. This had to be it. Hang on to the ball for a few seconds and then boot it out over the greyhound stand but there was to be one last piece of nerve shredding drama.

The ball was lost and Harlequins scrambled to engineer a winning drop goal but the referee spotted a knock on and this time there would be only ecstasy for the team and supporters. A full scale pitch invasion was launched. The stadium announcer futile pleas to keep off the pitch were barely audible over the ecstatic crowd.

Rarely will success in a pool game, let alone a final, have been celebrated so joyously. It felt like Connacht had won the final to the players as much as the fans.

Afterwards John Muldoon remarked: “ We are just waiting for the Cup to arrive downstairs. It’s like we’ve just won the Heineken Cup and we are waiting for them to deliver it!

The victory that the team, the city and the province had craved so desperately was theirs at last.