Connacht are on “red alert” for the upcoming visit of the Dragons to Dexcom Stadium on Saturday evening (kick-off 7.35pm, live on TG4).
With no points earned as a result of their heavy loss to URC leaders Leinster last weekend, Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins says this sixth-round showdown with Dragons is crucial, adding he won’t be looking to make “unnecessary” personnel changes.
“You reach the sixth game of a six-game block and there’s a lot of guys who are desperate for an opportunity who may have been training well and might well have expected to have a go. On the other side, one of our strengths in this block of games, even if it hasn’t been a win, has been our ability to, most of the time, accumulate points,” he says.
“I think consistency has helped us so far. It has been a consistency that we’ve developed within that 23. So I’m really looking out for freshness in terms of who has got the legs and also the mind for what will be a really, really tough game against the Dragons here.
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“There’s guys who have been doing a good job for us who are demonstrating that freshness in this early part of the week, then that reassures me that they’ll be good to go around again. But I think consistency has helped us so far.
“It’s red alert at this end in terms of the significance of the game and also the challenge ahead.”
Good news is the likely return of Mack Hansen, who was due to train on Monday.
“I’m hoping he’s going to be back on deck. He had a hip-pointer injury in that Ulster game about 10 minutes in that was pretty sore and he battled through without being able to shake it off in time for the Leinster game, so I am optimistic he will be involved this week.
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Although the Dragons currently sit in 14th on seven points and just one win, Wilkins is preparing his side for an energy-sapping encounter.
“Dragons make you work very, very hard at that contact zone, whether you’re attacking or defending. That takes energy. The set piece will be a big battle. That takes energy. And they’ve got one of the smarter kicking games in the competition.
“Angus O’Brien’s got a terrific boot and can really open up the field, so we’ve got to be aware of that. But at the same time, I think we’ve had attacking success this season when we’ve really backed ourselves to play to space. First and foremost, we need to be looking for those opportunities.”
Wilkins says its importance of the last URC game before the November break is “enormous”.
“If we win convincingly, you take that feel-good factor into the November break. I think it rounds off and probably shapes how you reflect on this first six games.”
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