Whatever way you look at it, Saturday night's meeting with Ulster at a jam-packed Sportsground is a huge game in Connacht's season. It's their sole home game over the festive period, it sets the tone for the upcoming derbies away to Leinster and Munster, and, after seven defeats in their opening 10 matches, they need a win to retain hopes of a place in the play-offs. Encouragingly at least, the game finds Connacht and their out-half Jack Carty in a good place.
There’s also a flipside to playing today as well, in that Carty and co will have Christmas off – a relative novelty for them. The Connacht squad will actually have a three-day break before returning to training next Wednesday.
But the turkey and ham will taste a good deal better if they can transfer their recent upturn in form in Europe to what can be called the meat and drink of their season.
The Sportsground will also be in expectant mood for its only home game over the festive period, and Carty is looking forward to coming up against their former teammate John Cooney, who himself has scored 42 points in his last two outings. "I'm in a WhatsApp group with him through a mutual friend, and he's been awfully quiet this week," says Carty.
Those entertaining back-to-back bonus point wins over Brive may also have been a turning point, all the more so after the fairly abysmal defeat away to Zebre which preceded them.
“When we were 19-3 down in Brive it would have been almost easier to throw in the towel and point the finger at each other, but even at 19-3 down we were confident we could come back into it. Mul [John Muldoon] had a good chat under the sticks and spoke about what we were going to do next off the kick-off.”
“We kept the ball away from their big ball-carriers, got a foothold in the game, Tiernan [O’Halloran] got a good line break off one of our set-piece moves and we finished it through Ultan [Dillane]and then the same with Marmo [Kieran Marmion]. It was encouraging to see stuff that we’ve been working on in training come off – we hadn’t seen that since we won the Pro12.”
Dummying
With Connacht trailing 20-26 early in the second period, Carty scored from inside his own half, first dummying between two players and then dummying Brive full-back Gaëtan Germain to touch down under the posts. Another try followed in last week’s home win, and 16 kicks out of 17 meant a haul of 48 points in two matches.
"It wouldn't have been something that I'd have spoken about before in case I jinxed myself, but I have been putting in a good bit of work on the goal-kicking, and other aspects of my game, like my defence with Pete Wilkins. The lads absolutely love working with him. He's been a bit of a revelation. You actually look forward to defending. He instils a confidence in you and a willingness to work hard in defence, which may sound strange for a '10' to be saying."
As for that stunning long-range effort in Brive, Carty says: “It was a significant one as well in that the game was in the balance. I suppose there would have been questions asked of me before, if I was able to stand up for the team and be a leader. The fact that I did that had a knock-on effect for the rest of that game and last week, and I hope that I keep kicking the goals and keep putting the lads in the right areas of the pitch, because we have quality up front and in our backs, and we have the attack structure to undo teams.”
Things have come more gradually for Carty than for his long-time friend Robbie Henshaw, a team-mate with Marist and Buccaneers, not to mention Hudson Bay Celtic, where they won an Under-15 All-Ireland Schools Cup, as well as an Under-16 All-Ireland gaelic football crown with Marist.
However, he’s now 25 and has played 93 competitive games for Connacht, so this is the time to take his game onto another level. “Yeah, I suppose I’ve moved away from being one of the younger players in the team now to being one of the more expanded. What comes with that is an expectation that you perform.
“In the early part of the season there were teething problems in getting used to the changes in how our attack was being run, and if I’m seen to be confident in what I’m doing on the pitch, especially in attack, that gives confidence to the rest of the lads.”
Carty's performance last week epitomised Connacht's heads-up brand of rugby under new coach Kieran Keane. In addition to the cross-kick for the first of Matt Healy's four tries, there was his own sharp finish, a chip over the defence near his own line off a quick tap from which Pita Ahki put Healy away for his fourth try and the quick penalty he kicked cross-field for Tom Farrell's try.
Decision-making
He admits it’s one thing doing it when the game’s won, another when it’s still in the balance, but it’s also the kind of ambition which Keane is looking for. That means more decision-making from Carty, and more of an onus on the outside backs to filter through information to him.
So what of KK, who has quickly confirmed he is indeed a straight talker? “He’s a gas man,” says Carty. “He says it how it is, and that’s what all the lads want. We had a tough old start, and I suppose it wasn’t easy for him, but his door is always open if fellas want to have a chat.”
“Like most coaches it’s all about working hard, but KK really gives the players ownership. Pat [Lam] would have highlighted the need to put in extras at training but now it’s kind of moved on from that. KK wants fellas to have ownership of their game, to look at their game and see where their weaknesses are and how they can improve it.”
“KK’s strength comes from his honesty. You know when he says something to you, he means what he says, and it’s for your improvement and the team. It’s about being able to handle the truth and all the lads down here are well able to do that. It was the same when Pat was here.”
Another who has begun to flourish again of late is Matt Healy, after last season's injury-afflicted campaign. Carty was indebted to Healy's astonishing one-handed take of the out-half's cross-kick – akin to a cricket fielder completing a catch on the boundary ropes which otherwise would have gone for six – before then skipping past two tackles while dancing along the touchline.
“I over-cooked a bit and I actually turned my back because I thought it was going straight into touch,” Carty admits. “But then he took it one-handed and somehow managed to score. Myself and Matt live next door to each other in Knocknacarra, so it was good to help him get a few tries.
“When Matty’s is on form he’s unstoppable. He’s one of the best players I’ve ever played with, and to offer a left foot in the back line is huge. He opens up the pitch for you as a ‘10’.”
Carty and Connacht had their highs last season, most notably in the home European Champions Cup wins over Toulouse and Wasps, when Carty landed the match-winning conversion from the touchline, and came within a score of reaching the quarter-finals. However, he concedes that they struggled with their new role as Pro12 champions and being targeted by other teams.
Three seasons
Any coach needs time. After a difficult first campaign, Lam needed three seasons for his methods to fully work, and there was always likely to be teething problems under a new head coach.
"The biggest difference is the shape in which we play. Under Pat we played a lot of 2-4-2, which I think everyone has a good idea of, with a pod of four forwards in the middle. Bernard Jackman brought that to Grenoble, and a lot of New Zealand sides use it, including the All Blacks. Under KK the main one we'd use would be the 1-3-3-1 but we balance it with a 2-4-2 as well, so it's a bit of both under KK. That's the main difference."
Although Carty contributed significantly the season before last, playing in 21 of their Pro12 games and 28 games in total, he missed most of the run-in and was 24th man in the final due to a ruptured spleen he suffered in a bizarre accident on a water slide in February in Dubai.
Hence, he wants to win things with Connacht and break into the Irish squad. To that end, Ian Keatley’s resurgence is inspirational.
“He went through a tough time last year and fair play to him. I think everyone in Irish rugby is delighted to see him play with such confidence, and he’ll be a huge threat to us when we go down to Munster.”
As for Connacht, earning a home quarter-final in the European Challenge Cup pool is a prime aim, albeit that’s parked now in favour of their stated target of winning all three interpro derbies.
“I know many people might think that would be out of our reach, but over the last couple of years we haven’t been that far away from it, and this weekend is paramount in starting that off. These three games could be huge for our season.”
