LEINSTER’S METHOD OF devouring Zebre will be copied by Connacht, says Kieran Marmion.
Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Ireland scrum-half Marmion says Connacht plan to follow Leinster’s blueprint as they go in search for vital Champions Cup points.
Connacht host the lowly Italians on Saturday afternoon, and fresh from the 70-6 hammering doled out by Leo Cullen’s side, Zebre will be aiming for a more favourable time out west.
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But according to Marmion, Connacht intend on denying the Italians any chances from the off and the hope is they will lose interest if the home side can build up a significant lead.
“They definitively always front up against us. They probably come over here and see it as a bit of an opportunity for them,” said Marmion.
“When they played Leinster on the weekend they went a few scores behind and probably rolled over and died a bit in that game.
As long as they are in with a chance of winning they always fight to the end, so it is crucial in this game that we score and then score again and then put them out of reach.”
With three wins to their name in Pool 2 a bonus-point win on Saturday is another important step in the chase for a quarter-final slot. However, in such a tight pool with three sides all tied on 13 points, a lot will ride on their final pool game away to Toulouse.
James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Connacht’s home win over Wasps last month was their sole victory in their last five games, but Marmion is still full of confidence after a positive November with Ireland. He remains hopeful that Connacht can stall their losing streak this weekend.
“Yeah I’m happy with the way things are going for me. The last three weeks’ results haven’t quite gone our way but I think in training we can take a lot of confidence from what we are doing. We just want to get back this week and get a good result.
“In the pool we are in a good position so far. If we can get a win this weekend, get some more points in the group we can go over to Toulouse being in a really good place. Hopefully we can be in a position to qualify going into that game.”
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Connacht look to Leinster's template as they target a big win over Zebre
LEINSTER’S METHOD OF devouring Zebre will be copied by Connacht, says Kieran Marmion.
Ireland scrum-half Marmion says Connacht plan to follow Leinster’s blueprint as they go in search for vital Champions Cup points.
Connacht host the lowly Italians on Saturday afternoon, and fresh from the 70-6 hammering doled out by Leo Cullen’s side, Zebre will be aiming for a more favourable time out west.
But according to Marmion, Connacht intend on denying the Italians any chances from the off and the hope is they will lose interest if the home side can build up a significant lead.
“They definitively always front up against us. They probably come over here and see it as a bit of an opportunity for them,” said Marmion.
“When they played Leinster on the weekend they went a few scores behind and probably rolled over and died a bit in that game.
With three wins to their name in Pool 2 a bonus-point win on Saturday is another important step in the chase for a quarter-final slot. However, in such a tight pool with three sides all tied on 13 points, a lot will ride on their final pool game away to Toulouse.
Connacht’s home win over Wasps last month was their sole victory in their last five games, but Marmion is still full of confidence after a positive November with Ireland. He remains hopeful that Connacht can stall their losing streak this weekend.
“Yeah I’m happy with the way things are going for me. The last three weeks’ results haven’t quite gone our way but I think in training we can take a lot of confidence from what we are doing. We just want to get back this week and get a good result.
“In the pool we are in a good position so far. If we can get a win this weekend, get some more points in the group we can go over to Toulouse being in a really good place. Hopefully we can be in a position to qualify going into that game.”
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