RUGBY/ European Challenge Cup, semi-final, first leg: It was an Easter Sunday adventure in sound for Connacht, the unlikely romantics of the Irish rugby season in London yesterday.
Visiting the home of the fabled Harlequins club in the clean and hushed suburbs of Twickenham, lauded onto the field to the grand strains of Prokofiev and starring in a Sky television afternoon matinee, one thing was for certain: this was not winter at the Sportsground.
The poor relations of Irish rugby may have blinked in the presence of their glamorous surroundings, but they were not dazzled, and the 31-22 defeat leaves the European Challenge Cup tie tightly poised when Harlequins visit Galway in two weeks. The match is scheduled for the same afternoon as Munster play their semi-final in the elite Continental competition.
Connacht coach Michael Bradley shrugged with cool indifference when informed of this shared spotlight. "Well, we wouldn't get 40,000 into the Sportsground anyway," he said breezily.
It was a response that echoed Connacht's approach to this season: come what may. Yesterday at the Stoop, a truly gorgeous family ground located just across from the mighty Twickenham, Bradley's team again displayed their fortitude and take-on-the-world sensibility.
At times they were literally clinging by fingernails to the famous patchwork Harlequins jerseys as the home team gave an opening 20-minute display of smooth and open rugby. Connacht could not so much as infringe beyond the Harlequins 10-metre line for the opening 25 minutes. Their lineout was leaking all afternoon.
They finished with their backs against the wall when Michael McCarthy was sent to the sin-bin.
Alarm bells sounded when the sumptuous Harlequins three-quarter line began to purr, with Will Greenwood bristling with dangerous intent and George Harder and Ugo Monye threatening to wreak havoc on the wing. And yet: Connacht, stubborn and prosaic and honest, trailed only 11-10 at half-time and were within four points with five minutes to go.
"Its a very rare day that you go off and smash a team off the park," said Harlequins coach Mark Evans. "And we nearly did that - but not quite. Connacht are a good side. You don't neat Pau, Narbonnes and Biarritz if you are a bunch of muppets. I don't think Connacht have been given full credit for their season - there is a lot of damning with faint praise going on, frankly."
The difference in those previous European encounters was that Connacht took an advantage back with them to the Sportsground, a wintry old place that is the Wuthering Heights of professional rugby. This time, they trail by nine and Bradley conceded the deficit gives Harlequins an edge.
"I'd be absolutely staggered if Michael Bradley said anything else," said Evans, who shared the Cork man's tone in acidic fun. "But thank you very much for reporting it. No, I think we have to go to Galway and we should be capable of that."
There were periods in the match when Harlequins shimmered. Mel Deane galloped in for their first of four tries after 17 minutes when Greenwood split the Connacht defence. Three more flowing, flawless tries followed, and there were two occasions when Monye and Gavin Duffy were just a simple pass away from a free run to the line.
"Yeah, our backline is very good going forward," mused Evans. "They are not bad going back either."
Connacht had their moments, closing the first half on a thunderous note that climaxed with Matt Lacey's bread-and-butter try on 40 minutes.
Eric Elwood displayed the same nerve for place-kicking as he used to showcase across the road in Twickenham in another life. Penalties kept them alive.
And all through there were endless Irish-orientated fascinations. It was impossible to watch Elwood versus Burke without being reminded of the days when they vied for the Irish number 10 jersey. And when Elwood broke for the tryline on 41 minutes it was young Simon Keogh who dragged him down.
With 10 minutes remaining, Darren Yapp danced into free ground and dashed for the Harlequins post. Here another Irishman, Gavin Duffy, preserved the day for the English club with perhaps the most crucial tackle of this tie.
Connacht fans groaned at the concession of a Greenwood try - a trademark of grace and power - after 78 minutes. However, Burke, snappy and efficient all afternoon, was too tight with his angled conversion. Still, the score seemed like a promise of the kind of high-octane game of flair that Harlequins will bring to Galway in a fortnight.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe we will just kick and clap for 80 minutes," teased Evans. "Interesting, a year ago we were lambasted for being too boring."
And a year ago Connacht were being lambasted for altogether more grievous reasons. Right now, the Irish side have everything to play for and that was enough to leave them departing The Stoop in good heart. ...
