As a player he visited a plethora of French rugby clubs, but Lyon will be a first for John Muldoon when Connacht travel to the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region for Saturday’s Champions Cup meeting (1.0).
Connacht’s forwards coach knows these French opponents are big, fast and skilful, and also that their struggles in the French Top 14 do not reflect the potential damage they can do, if allowed. They are also smarting from a recent hiding in the French championship, and Muldoon says Connacht can expect to be on the receiving end of a “contrecoup” on Saturday afternoon.
“If we get into an arm wrestle and let it get loose and uncontrollable in terms of how we let the game go, that is when they are their best,” said the former Connacht and Ireland backrow. “They are struggling for results at the moment, but you can see they have some real quality players, and you only have to look at the last 25 minutes against Bristol – they were 33-10 down and suddenly they are winning with a couple of minutes to go.
“We have to make sure we are switched on and don’t give them any easy opportunities – they can come from anywhere with the team they have.”
A major boost has been Connacht’s recent victory over Munster, a display Muldoon hails as the team’s most consistent of the season in terms of mental focus.
“Were there errors? Absolutely, but I think overall we controlled the game better. Our stats show we did better with the possession – that is control, that is concentration. Small margins make a huge difference, and I think our lads were very controlled in what was a tough environment.
“When you look at who we have played this year and how close we have been – we could have got something more out of Edinburgh, arguably we should have beaten Leinster, similarly Ulster – and we could be second or third in the league and looking at the completely different scenario. But we are not far off. Small margins lose you games, and a couple of poor results have probably pushed the negative side of things forward, but we are not tracking too badly.”
Muldoon can take many plaudits for Connacht’s performance against Munster – “100 per cent lineouts, couple of penalties, the scrum was good.
“To me that is attitude, to me that is concentration, and I think that is where we have to be better as a forward pack. It showed we were able to do that, we now need to be consistent.”
Connacht has traditionally enjoyed some massive wins in France – not least in 2013 when Pat Lam’s side, then struggling in the league, delivered a 16-14 win over Toulouse at Stade Ernest Wallon. It has become the stuff of legend as Muldoon, then captain, would also go on to lift the Pro 12 trophy. No one knows better than the Portumna man just how important victories can be for club and province.
“I think we are in a very different position than when we beat Toulouse. I don’t think many people would have given us the chance of winning over there. Certainly we had played them a couple of times previously, had a couple of big losses and one or two near misses – that was probably the start of what became 2016.
“But I think we are in different position in terms of what it would do to this group. I think it would be big. We were very disappointed how we played against Bordeaux, we just were very flat on the night, and there was a big turning point when we didn’t score early. It is not a true reflection [of Connacht], so I’d love to go down and make another statement in France.”
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