CONNACHT OUT-HALF Jack Carty said they are on a revenge mission as they head to Wales to take on Cardiff Blues tomorrow night.
Carty said they feel reinvigorated by the November international break and are determined to make it five wins in a row tomorrow, having found top form after a poor start to the season.
They lost five of their opening six games under new coach Kieran Keane but after shocking Munster 20-16 in October they have chalked up wins in the Challenge Cup against Oyonnax and Worcester, before defeating the Cheetahs last time out.
Now they head to Arms Park tomorrow hoping to avenge a 17-15 home loss to Cardiff in September.
Carty said the break has given them to chance to recharge the batteries and the 25-year old said they are ready to roll again.
“It was good, I just got home for a couple of days and didn’t head away or anything. It was nice and relaxed.
“When you are on a nice winning run you just want to keep it going. We had a few good physical games up until that and it was a nice change having the week training straight after the Cheetahs game.
“I wouldn’t say necessarily that we were looking forward to the break, but it was nice to have it all the same.”
Carty has played 68 times in the league for Connacht and scored five tries since his debut in 2012-13.
And he said they were ready to get revenge for that earlier loss to Cardiff.
“It was a disappointing day when we lost to Cardiff. We felt we had the win in the bag. We are looking at the things that we can control and we will look to nullify the strengths that they have.”
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He’s not as disappointed as some on relation to how far off they are? They are miles off. No offence to Munster but they are an average,though very gutsy and committed side,and they have hammers Leinster twice in a row now. I do agree that they haven’t had any continuity with combinations,especially from 9-13,and hopefully when the likes of OBrien, Healy, Moore, Teo, McFadden etc come back then there will be a big improvement.
I must take the opportunity to praise Matt O’Connor for the huge improvement in Guinness Pro12 teams. Ever since he arrived at Leinster, every other team has greatly improved. Teams, that two years ago were almost brushed aside by Leinster, have now reached the heights that Leinster once inhabited alone.
Treviso have improved, Munster have improved, Edinburgh have improved, Scarlets have improved, Dragons have improved, Zebra have improved, Connacht (brilliant tonight, by the way) have improved..
In fact, they have all improved so much that Leinster has great difficulty taking on any of them.
By extension, Wasps and Harlequins have shown just how brilliant they are too due to you Matt.
I can hardly wait to see how much Castres get better when they arrive at the RDS soon. They will build statues in your image all over the town.
Matt, you have done European rugby a great service. They have all reached and surpassed Leinster this season thanks to your input at Leinster and everywhere else.
Thank you Matt and Happy New year!.
(and also to Mr Caputo, the news paper seller. Your influence on all other teams has been exceptional)