Pete Wilkins: Preview to Benetton
This Saturday Connacht Rugby welcome Benetton Rugby to The Sportsground. For Connacht, its a first home game since late October and one they will be aiming to win.
Head coach Pete Wilkins spoke to media before the game where he was first asked about last weekend’s defeat to Munster.
“Saturday wasn’t good enough and the scoreline reflects that”
“I’ve got mixed feelings from it, in the first half we put ourselves in contention but I don’t think Munster should have had ten points if we had been on our game as effectively as we should have been and in the second half I feel we gave them too many blocks of momentum”
“The key stat for me on Saturday was we got into their 22 six times and they got access to our 22 twelve times”
“Going into the game we were fairly even when it came to that stat per game”
The Connacht set piece has been very impressive so far this year and while Pete is happy with how that area is going he still believes there’s room for improvement.
“The forwards are showing great appetite for work and they have been top class but as a unit they know they haven’t reached their best yet which excites me so much”
“Lads are coming into training each day looking at specific details as to where they can improve and get the best out of each other”
“As coaches we’re seeing real competition in our scrum sessions, the lads are really pushing each other which is what’s needed to reach the level we want”
Benetton make their way to Galway on Saturday and the Italian side have had a decent season to date so Pete is expecting a massive challenge and one that should excite the players.
“Its an interesting challenge because they are pretty low in the rankings for possession, territory and points scored but yet they are very effective on their day and that is down to their goal kicking and taking opportunities when they come”
“If your discipline is poor they will punish you and they have powerful forwards who can cause damage”
“For us, we need to be effective when we have the ball and be clinical”
The Connacht team for Saturday will be named on Friday.
Tickets for the game are available HERE
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