David Hawkshaw says there is more to come from his partnership with Jack Carty after impressive showings in the past two matches.
It has been a tough five weeks for Connacht but one of the positives of the past two matches was the 10-12 combination of Carty and Hawkshaw.
Having started at out-half against the Vodacom Bulls, Hawkshaw moved into midfield when Connacht captain Carty returned from injury against Munster, and the pair immediately hit it off as the province claimed their first win of the season.
"I'm loving it," Hawkshaw told RTÉ Sport. "I really enjoy the way Jack plays, it's nice to feed off because there's a lot of heads-up rugby as well.
"I like playing 12 so being able to play with him and learn a bit off him has been pretty good."
Hawkshaw has hit the ground running since his summer move from Leinster. The 23-year-old was one of three playmakers selected in the Connacht backline for the games against Munster and Leinster, with Conor Fitzgerald stationed at full-back, but Hawkshaw has shown nice variety to his game and is also a strong ball-carrying option.
It is a sign how quickly he has settled into life out west, with his younger brother Daniel also moving to Galway to join Connacht's academy.
"For myself and my brother moving up here, we were welcomed in with open arms," said the elder Hawkshaw.
"Everyone was so connected and so welcoming to the two of us coming in. Galway is a great place to live as well. It's lovely, a nice change of scenery.
"All the coaches, players, it's been brilliant. I’m learning from a lot of the lads there: Jack, Conor, Tom Daly, Tom Farrell. It’s been great. It’s been over three months now. I’m really enjoying it.
"Was it a tough decision to leave Leinster? In ways you grow up in the place, especially underage and stuff like that. But chatting with Friendy [Andy Friend], it was something that really excited me. It was a great opportunity and something I really got excited about taking.
"Of course it was tough in the sense of leaving home but other than that, just pure excitement from it."
Connacht’s performances have gradually improved since their opening-round loss at Ulster but results have not followed. They dropped to second-bottom of the BKT United Rugby Championship following last Friday’s loss against league leaders Leinster, their fourth defeat in five games.
Connacht did more than enough to take something from the Leinster game but continually shot themselves in the foot when inside the opposition 22.
"Of course there’s a frustration there, especially with the results the last couple of weeks," said Hawkshaw. "But you don't want to read too much into it as well. It's a work in progress.
"There's a lot of good going on and a lot of things that are that are nearly there. It’s just about clicking at the right time.
"Sometimes it just takes a bit of time but we're under no illusions. We’re another week down the line, another week together, and we’re at home this week again, which is great.
"It's just sticking together and trust in our process that it will come."
Great to have Cathal Forde, Cian Prendergast, Dylan Tierney-Martin and Sam Illo back in training after their trip to South Africa 🟢🦅#Connachtrugby pic.twitter.com/FdVdVwZ4xi
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) October 18, 2022
After a daunting start to the season where they faced all four of last season’s URC semi-finalists and neighbours Munster, Connacht tackle fellow strugglers Scarlets at the Sportsground on Friday.
The Welsh side collected their first win of the campaign last weekend when they ran in five tries against Zebre Parma and Hawkshaw is looking forward to testing himself against their experienced centre partnership of Scott Williams and Jonathan Davies.
"The last few weeks, there have been some big challenges there at 12. This is another one with the two lads," he said.
"I’m not sure if I’m going to be there or not but if I am it’ll be massive. I'll have to get my work done this week and be ready for another big challenge.
"It's exciting playing against these players and what they've done throughout the years. It's great to go up against them."
Watch Leinster v Munster in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday from 4.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app
