It was little surprise that two teams renowned for defensive qualities should muster a low-scoring contest in which try-scoring chances were at a premium. Yet, despite being forewarned , it didn't quite prepare the spectator for the mind-numbing tedium that was Saturday's clash at Lansdowne Road.
Galwegians relinquished a 100 per cent success rate this season, their only consolation being a late try by centre Gavin Duffy which outhalf Eric Elwood converted superbly from the touchline: it earned them a bonus point.
The long trip home will have afforded plenty of time to mull over an undistinguished display. Their celebrated pack coughed up too many turnovers and rarely established momentum in chasing the hard yards.
Galwegians were forced to work harder in the scrums (Lansdowne were the aggressors in this respect), but the forwards did provide a platform, particularly through second row Mark McConnell. He excelled out of touch and could hardly be blamed when hooker Paul Cleary's accuracy deserted him periodically. But the Connacht side's use of the hard-won possession was substandard.
The backs ran laterally, drifting to the touchlines and making things simple for the defenders. This was quite apart from the number of handling errors, forced and unforced, that undermined Galwegians' ambition. Lansdowne in contrast, harboured no such lofty thoughts, and propelled the ball with the boot rather than through the hands.
Captain Colin McEntee did not apologise for the game as a spectacle.
"I spoke to the players on Thursday at training and told them that I would prefer the points, and if that meant boring people to death so be it," he said. "Obviously you would prefer to play good rugby, but winning has to be a priority. We had neglected defence in the last two matches but focused on that aspect of the game during the week.
"We wanted to get into their faces, reduce the amount of time they had to make decisions and guarantee first-up tackles. It may not have been pretty but you have to play to your strengths. They were up quickly defensively so the most sensible thing for us to do was kick it long when they left the holes in behind them."
Lansdowne's victory was a monument to pragmatism and to the quality of their defence. The back row worked extremely hard, while Reggie Corrigan demonstrated a fine work ethic, carrying ball to great effect which belied his recent lay-off through injury. Outhalf David Quigley converted enough penalty opportunities to see his side home.
Elwood, in contrast, will rue a couple of missed chances that he would ordinarily not pass up. His drop goal attempt in the sixth minute of injury time was charged down easily.
It would be wrong to fault Galwegians' attitude, just the accuracy of execution. They trailed 3-0 at the interval, Quigley converting one of three penalty opportunities.
A superb cover tackle by Elwood on Lansdowne centre Paul Barry saved a certain try on 38 minutes, but the outhalf would have been feeling less pleased when he pulled a 22-metre penalty wide just before half-time.
Quigley nudged his side further ahead with two further penalties, but with the game in the second minute of injury time, Elwood threw out a superb miss pass, Gavin Duffy's superb footwork allowed him to outwit the defender and he cantered over in the corner.
Scoring sequence: 10 mins: Quigley penalty, 3-0. 64: Quigley penalty, 6-0; 69: Quigley penalty, 9-0. 82: Duffy try, Elwood conversion, 9-7.
LANSDOWNE: G D'Arcy; L O'Brien, P Barry, G Hamilton, R Niland; D Quigley, S Whelan; R Corrigan, O Ennis, E Bohan; S O'Connor, G Quinn; S Rooney, C McEntee (capt), L Toland. Replacements: G Molloy for Toland (54 mins), K Becker for O'Brien (78 mins).
GALWEGIANS: W Ruane; G Brady, G Duffy, T Allnutt, P Duignan; E Elwood, B Shelbourne; D McFarland, P Cleary, P Bracken; D Browne, M McConnell; B Gavin (capt), M Swift, J Charlie. Replacements: J Casserley for Browne (69 mins), J Barfoot for Charlie (69 mins), D Rumney for Allnutt (74 mins).
Referee: G Doyle (IRFU).
