“We didn’t want to be the whipping boys of Irish rugby any longer” – How one European victory gave Connacht belief

On Saturday, Connacht take on the four-time European Cup champions and no-one will be writing them off.

When Connacht took on the French giants for the first time, in November 2011, they were in the lower reaches of the PRO12 and were only in the Heineken Cup because of the efforts of Leinster and Munster. Toulouse had won their fourth Heineken Cup 18 months before and would end the season as Top 14 champions. Lionel Beauxis kicked 21 points as Connacht were thumped 36-10. The westerners were in the midst of a losing streak that would eventually end at 15 games. Monday mornings were extremely tough but there was a manic belief that they were on the right road. Eric Elwood, and Michael Bradley before him, had scouted extensively and sought to bring in men of character. Former London Irish hooker Adrian Flavin certainly fell into that bracket.

"Every player that came and played well obviously bought into what we were doing out at Connacht," said Flavin. "If you came in with a chip on your shoulder or felt you were better than other lads, you were soon f**ked out, to be honest. With the likes of Michael Swift, Johnny O’Connor and John Muldoon you had guys with high standards. If anyone thought, 'Bloody hell, I’m here at Connacht,' they didn’t last long."

Talent from the Nigel Carolan-run academy would soon filter into the Connacht squad in the form of Tiernan O'Halloran, Ronan Loughney and Eoin McKeon but it would be another while before Kieran Marmion, Robbie Henshaw, Darragh Leader and more got their chance. January 14, 2012 saw Connacht travel to France for the return tie against Toulouse that boasted Louis Picamoles, Maxime Medard, Vincet Clerc, Luke McAlister, Yoann Maestri and captain Thierry Dusautoir. The hosts led 17-3 with 10 minutes to go but a converted Timoci Matanavou try added gloss to the final scoreline. Connacht captain Muldoon recalled:

"Proving to teams we belonged at the top table was our first major achievement. One memory that stands out... was the standing ovation we got from Toulouse after losing 24–3. It showed us we deserved to be there. "A lot of their fans wouldn’t have known too much about us, and would have turned up expecting their team to trounce us. For them to give us a standing ovation long after their players had left the pitch meant so much to us."

Six days later and Conor O'Shea's Harlequins travelled to Galway in need of a win to get to the knock-out stages. Connacht ended their losing skid by holding out in remarkably stout fashion for a 9-8 victory. The game remains Flavin's favourite of the 159 he played for Connacht. He declared:

"It is not for the result, who we were playing or the fact that we knocked Harlequins out. It was the fact that we had lost 15 games in a row before that, and that no one dropped their heads. There was no bitching, no in-fighting.  "Everyone stood up on the Monday, and – through sheer desire or stupidity – said, 'We can turn this around.' 15 losses, some shitty times when we thought, 'Jesus, what can we do?' Some days we were blown away, whereas others we lost in the last minute. "Quins at home, and John Muldoon stands up and says, 'Tonight we are going to win'. It was not the best game in the world to watch, but we had come through four months of losses. We weren’t coming off that pitch that night without a win, and we got there."

By the start of the following season Elwood had moved on. Pat Lam was installed and told anyone who would listen that he wanted to make Connacht the best province in Ireland within five years. He got there in three. It was not easy, and Lam himself would argue that one swallow/title does not make a summer, but two more encounters with Toulouse would steel the squad. December 2013 saw Connacht pitted against the French side twice in two Heineken Cup weekends. The hosts, at Stade Ernest Wallon, started with a bang but were repulsed by white jerseys. Connacht trailed 7-6 at the break but a converted Fionn Carr try and another Dan Parks penalty had them 16-7 up. Dusautoir forced his way over and the lead was cut to a couple of points but Connacht held on. Muldoon said:

"A few days before the game, a friend told me Toulouse were 200-to-1 on. I asked what we were, and it was 20 or 25 to one. I remember thinking, 'Jesus, in a two-horse race that is ridiculous'. "I told a couple of people that we were quietly confident, and there were a few quotes from Pat that were quite bullish. I think that’s the beauty and the frustration of Connacht Rugby – we always believe we can beat anyone on our day." "The way we had played and the way it was going," he added. "I didn’t think at any stage we would lose."

Toulouse gained revenge a week later as the Connacht squad was left in tatters by a stomach bug. At half-time of a 37-9 reversal, a couple of players were vomiting up whatever was left in their tortured tummies. While that week ended under a cloud of illness, Muldoon looks back fondly at that two-game series. His stand-out memory was the video review the Monday before the return game. He said:

"It was a nice moment. A lot of people were looking around that room, taking it in. The feeling was that we didn’t want to be the whipping boys of Irish rugby any longer."

At 5:35pm this Saturday, Connacht will take to the pitch against Toulouse as champions of their league. With Zebre in their group, there is every chance that two sides will emerge from Pool 2 and into the knock-out stages. If Connacht get there, it will surprise no-one. That is a victory in itself but Connacht want so much more. On the latest episode of the GAA Hour, Wooly chats to new Meath boss Andy McEntee about the flawed Dublin Championship and catches up with new Clare joint manager Donal Moloney. Listen below or subscribe on iTunes.