Enisei STM 14 Connacht 31
Connacht can tick off more than a trek to Siberia after their successful bonus-point win over newcomers Enisei-STM in Saturday's Challenge Cup opening round.
The 31-14 win, played in snow with temperatures from -18 to -26, puts Connacht in pole position going into the second round next week against Brive, but it also provided a huge learning curve from which Pat Lam believes his squad can only benefit.
“We had said the next two weeks was about growing our mental toughness, and just getting on with some of the challenges we were going to face. We have had lots of obstacles in front of us and the boys have knocked them all off, but the most important one was getting the performance.
Five points
“To get the five points in those conditions was a great effort, and I am just really pleased for the boys, and, more importantly too is that there were no injuries, so it was a job well done by the squad.”
After a tough opening half in which both sides took time to adapt to the freezing conditions, Connacht led by 6-0 through AJ MacGinty’s boot.
But they took control of the second 40 minutes and finished with a four-try flourish to wrap up the victory on this historic occasion of a first European fixture in Russia.
“That was the most worrying aspect, the unknown, the injuries, the conditions, but I just knew it was going to take a big mental effort. Enisei are a physical side, we knew that, so you have to knock them down, and bring the physicality to match it, and to do that is a mental thing – and then there is the cold.
“At half-time time the boys came in at 6-0 and could hardly feel their fingers, and I just knew the temperature was going to drop even further.
“We had a good chat – that we could put these guys away but we needed to exert more pressure. Defensively we missed a few tackles which gave them a bit of hope, so we needed to tidy that up and fix our body position at the breakdown. All the tries came off some very good breakdown work.”
Solid scrum
After a third penalty early in the second half Connacht struck for the first try, once again coming from a solid scrum with wing
Niyi Adeolokun
crossing out wide.
Three minutes later captain John Muldoon got over in the opposite corner after Bundee Aki had cut open the defence. Dominating possession and territory, Connacht made it count with a third try when Aki supplied Darragh Leader out wide.
The home side, who had not played competitive rugby since September, staged a late comeback with two tries, but Connacht ensured the bonus point when Rory Parata latched onto a well-executed kick to dive over.
While the conditions mitigated against a large crowd, the paltry attendance never matched Enisei’s belief of a sell-out in the 22,000-seater Central Stadium, and question marks remain over the wisdom of hosting a European match in November, two months after the Russian season ends.
“I think the game needed to be played here, no doubt about that,” says Lam.
" For the Russian team, it was a monumental occasion and it's history, and if I were in their shoes, I would have been disappointed not to get a home game. The World Cup obviously delayed the start and, if played in October, no problem. But once the game was set, we had to make sure we were prepared . It has been a really good experience that we can add on our list as a management group around preparing for these sorts of game . . . we want the whole team learning."
With another two players making first starts, centre Peter Robb and backrow Sean O'Brien coming on as a replacement, Lam says not so long ago, most of his squad were "just kids".
“That sort of game is not just learning, but learning situations. The boys are learning confidence, building a lot of mental toughness, and it will hold us in good stead. It doesn’t guarantee you will win game, but the ability to be strong, and when we get into those situations again, which we will against Munster and all the other games coming up, we designated this as training exercise for mental toughness.”
CONNACHT: D Leader, R Parata, N Adeolokun, B Aki, P Robb, N Adeolokun, AJ MacGinty, I Porter, D Buckley, S Delahunt, F Bealham, U Dillane, A Muldowney, J Muldoon, J Connolly, G Naoupu. Replacements: R Loughney for D Buckley (50), S O'Brien for Muldoon (57), C Blade for Porter (60), C Ronaldson for Aki (64), D Heffernan for Delahunt (64), D Qualter for A Muldowney and C O'Donnell for Bealham (67).
Enisei-STM: Y Kushnarev, M Babaev, D Kcharava, D Gerasimov, D Simplikevich, R Gaisin, J Baranovs, A Bezverjhiv S Selskiy, I Zykv, U Saulite, V Krasylinyk, V Orlov, A Temnov ©, D Krotiv. Replacements: A Shcherban for Baranovs, A Polivalov for A Bezverkhov (49), J Baranovs for Chcherban (58). 67). Yellow card: Y Kurshnarev (24).
