Saturday's win against the Stormers was important for Connacht beyond the four match points according to senior coach Pete Wilkins.
Their 19-17 win against the South Africans at the Sportsground lifted them back up to sixth in the United Rugby Championship table, but it was also notable as it was their first of the campaign without captain Jack Carty.
The out-half has been ever-present when available for selection this season, but Connacht looked flat in their two games when he was absent, losing heavily to both the Glasgow Warriors and Ulster.
With Conor Fitzgerald impressing at 10 in last Saturday's narrow win over the Stormers, Wilkins admits it was important for the team to prove they can perform without Carty.
"I do think it's important. I think it is a factor," he said, ahead of this Friday night's visit to Edinburgh.
"At the same time it's not at the front of everyone’s mind, but there's an awareness of it. Jack has played incredibly well for us this season and earned his opportunity with the national squad. It’s important to recognise the quality he’s brought to us, but not develop a reliance on him being there.
"Conor had a really positive performance, and the important bit for him was how he controlled the team and ran the game, and had the result. Having that result in a tight game adds even more value to that. The value was Conor’s performance rather than result, but the result doubled down on that."
While Fitzgerald impressed against the South Africans, it's likely that Carty will reclaim the number 10 jersey for this Friday night's trip to the Edinburgh Rugby Stadium.
The 29-year-old has been released back to the province along with hooker Dave Heffernan for the Six Nations break weekend, adding to a healthy Connacht squad at present.
Their injury crisis in the front row has eased with Matthew Burke and Dominic Robertson-McCoy (below) both back in full training, although Denis Buckley is a doubt due to a calf issue.
Gavin Thornbury is also being integrated back into squad training. The second row has been sidelined since undergoing shoulder surgery at the end of last season, with the province targeting a return to action by the end of March.
"It's good, a good spot to be in," Wilkins added.
"As often happens with injuries and availability it often comes in cycles. You lose a batch of players for a period, we had that with our front rowers going back the last month or two.
"We had 41 guys training today, a hugely competitive session. It’s a good challenge for us as coaches because we need to make sure they’re getting reps and keep developing, it’s part of our remit to keep growing these players."
Friday night's game looks to be a real opportunity for the western province, who have won two in a row since arresting their four-game losing run. On the other side, their hosts have now lost their last three games, falling from top of the table to fifth in recent weeks.
Edinburgh have also moved from Murrayfield to a new purpose-built 7,800 capacity ground next door to Scottish Rugby HQ.
And Wilikins - a former Edinburgh assistant coach - says Connacht's game is well suited to the new artificial surface at the Scottish club.
"It is built for fast rugby and I think a lot of the time with these artificial surfaces you get the best use out of them in that first season or two. They tend to get harder over time the more they are used and get compacted and the bounce can change. It's a good pitch.
"Even talking to the lads, the players are excited about playing on it, and excited in the context of us being able to play on a fast pitch and getting our game on that kind of surface. There is excitement about the surface.
"We've proved we can play an exciting brand in ant conditions, and to be going to what we hope will be a dry Edinburgh and a decent 4g pitch, it will be great to get a chance to do that."
