There was a collective sigh of relief from the Connacht coaching box as their players finished strongly to see off the Scarlets on Friday night, but Andy Friend still sees plenty of room for improvement.
Connacht deservedly led 16-11 at half-time on Friday but that was a source of frustration for Friend after his side had again squandered glorious chances to extend that lead.
However, his players came out fighting in the second half, grabbing a third try while down to 14 men before crossing a further two times late on to clinch a 36-14 win as a tiring Scarlets lost their discipline.
"There was relief in the coaching box and no doubt among the players, it was a good win in terms of what we needed but we still have more in us," said Connacht director of rugby Friend.
"There are areas we can still tidy up."
One area that is clicking is Connacht's defence. For the third successive game they conceded just one try, driving the Scarlets back behind the gain line and slowing down their ruck ball.
"Defence has been brilliant - three tries in three weeks, Scarlets, Munster, Leinster - I know they want to be the team that makes the difference," said Friend.
"A win and bonus point makes a difference, it is really important to kick on from that.
"I honestly believe there has been growth in every game. We know our lineout, our scrum, our physicality in defence has been good but we still need to be more accurate.
"We know it is not right. We still have a lot of work to do but that will help us kick on. That will help us find the confidence, trust and belief.
"There has been enormous work over the last couple of seasons with our pack. Cullie Tucker [scrum and contact coach] is doing a brilliant job with our scrum. We have had some really good performances. We have great depth but the push will be to grow that pack."
Friend reported no fresh injuries after Friday’s win but he will be without his Ireland contingent for next weekend’s trip to the Ospreys.
Mack Hansen, who crossed for a try in each half, Finlay Bealham, Dave Heffernan, Cian Prendergast and Caolin Blade will join up with the Ireland camp on Monday.
