Connacht hopes rise for visit of French aristocrats Toulouse

JIM CARNEY, RAY RYAN at The Stoop, Twickenham   Harlequins  - 25 Connacht  - 17 IN the 17th year of what the former great French rugby international centre Jean-Pierre Lux called 'the world's most competitive club rugby tournament,' Connacht have proudly taken their place in the Heineken Cup â€â€ they played their historic first match at the highest level when they visited London last weekend for the eagerly awaited Pool 6, Round 1 clash with English Premiership table-toppers Harlequins, on Friday evening. Once again, as so often before, brave Connacht were gallant in defeat, but that was of little consolation to their wonderfully inspirational, charismatic coach Eric Elwood who said in media interviews afterwards that while it was a very good performance they would have to 'raise the bar higher' for the visit to Galway of Toulouse this weekend. This Round 2 contest will be played in front of an expected â€Ëœfull house' (9,000) at Galway Sportsground on Saturday evening, with the kick-off at 6.00 o'clock. Looking back at his team's Heineken Cup debut, it was a sign of Eric Elwood's hopes and aspirations that he was a very disappointed man, although a lionhearted Connacht squad had pushed in-form Harlequins to the limit in a well-contested, hugely entertaining 80 minutes of hard, fast, top-class rugby. 'We believe in what we are doing,' said the Connacht coach. 'People may not think we can compete against the likes of Harlequins or Toulouse, but we could have won that game and I was not surprised. I am proud of the lads but also disappointed because we genuinely felt we could win it, and that is not being big-headed. It was an opportunity. I have waited 16 years to get into the Heineken Cup so I am not going to be harsh on the boys as it was a fantastic effort, but we came up short and got nothing out of it. Yes, we opened people's eyes here but the challenge now is to back it up. Can we back it up at home against the mighty Toulouse? We are looking at the Heineken Cup as a six-Test series. On Saturday the second Test will be that bit more important, our first at home. The crowd, a full house, will play their part but we must raise the level of our performance.' Conceding a late penalty, which was scored by the New Zealand-born 'Quins out-half Nick Evans (formerly an All-Black), Connacht lost the bonus point which would have made defeat easier to absorb, while there was also disappointment and frustration that penalties were coughed up earlier, in both halves. Evans's kicking accounted for 20 points of the winners' 25, with scrum-half Karl Dickson scoring their only try. Connacht, to their immense credit, got two tries. Not only that, even after they lost their 10-9 lead and slipped 19-10 behind at half-time, their spirit was unbroken, their composure marvellous, their attitude magnificent. They rallied in the second half. Captain Gavin Duffy, leading by splendid personal example, got in for a rousing try, which replacement out-half Niall O'Connor coolly converted, and the 'Quins lead was cut to 19-17. Connacht's task was much more manageable now but the leaders finished better and won their eleventh competitive fixture in a row, on the 11th day of the 11th month. Sadly too, it helped the 'Quins cause that Connacht gave away eleven penalties, in sharp contrast to the five conceded by the winners. And it was in the 79th minute, just before French referee Jerome Garces blew the final whistle, that Nick Evans denied Connacht a losing bonus point with the sixth of seven successful penalty kicks. In other post-match interviews, Connacht assistant coach Dan McFarland regretted that the pack didn't engineer a scoring opportunity when they had the put-in at a scrum 35 metres out from the Harlequins try-line with the score at 19-17 and time running out. No doubt, the experience of a first Heineken Cup match will stand Connacht in good stead and there is bound to be a new feelgood factor emanating from the widespread acclaim that greeted their courageous play, skill and superb on-field organisation at the Harlequins ground last Friday evening â€â€ acclaim from the English print media in particular, and also from the winners' head coach Conor O'Shea, the former Ireland full-back and once a colleague and friend of Eric Elwood at Lansdowne. Whether it all adds up to a similarly big performance against Toulouse â€â€Ã‚  les grands du rugby Français â€â€ at Galway Sportsground next Saturday remains to be seen, but it is a thrilling prospect.   More on Pages 22, 23.