Connacht coach Pat Lam wants his men to build on their magnificent victory away to Toulouse in the Heineken Cup by climbing off the bottom of the RaboDirect Pro 12.
And that starts by ending an eight match losing run with a badly needed victory over Dragons at the Sportsground this evening.
A bout of flu robbed Connacht of any hope of repeating their win over the French giants when they met last week in the Sportsground but Lam thinks they can learn from that one as well.
“I was very proud of how the guys went out and put their bodies on the line, but having said that, after having a good look at the game, two things were very frustrating.
“We didn’t do the jobs that we said we would do, stick to the plan. We made mistakes at crucial times.
“But on the positive side the last two weeks have shown me hat we can beat anybody. If we bring the Connacht heart and we apply it to the game-plan and the work that we do, there is no doubt we can beat any team. We have to try and focus on that for the rest of the season, starting to this week against the Dragons,” he said.
Two changes
Lam has made just two changes to the Connacht team that were heavily beaten by Toulouse for the visit of the Dragons.
Nathan White and Gavin Duffy are named in the side while tighthead prop White replaces Rodney Ah You in the front row after he missed last week’s game due to the flu virus that plagued the Connacht squad.
Gavin Duffy replaces Fionn Carr on the wing and will win his 170th cap for Connacht. Craig Clarke continues as captain in the secondrow and is partnered by Mick Kearney again. John Muldoon is named in the backrow after signing a new two year contract during the week.
Dave Heffernan replaces Sean Henry, who was recently named Connacht Player of the Month for November, on the bench as the hooker is ruled out through injury.
Cory Hill makes his first appearance for the Dragons. who also include British and Irish Lion Toby Faletau.
“Our aim is to get off the bottom of the table,” added Lam. “But we can’t really focus on that. We have to get our game right and get our heart right. Dragons are a very good side and are getting a lot better . . . We have to take the belief from the last two weeks against Toulouse and apply it this weekend.”
