Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins said the players and staff held a "constructive but confronting" review after their attack again failed to fire in the defeat to Munster.
The 24-17 loss at Thomond Park left Connacht fourth from bottom in the BKT United Rugby Championship table and facing a must-win game against Benetton on Saturday, live on RTÉ1 and RTÉ Player.
While Connacht have improved at the set-piece and in defence this season, that is negated by their attack, which is the worst in the URC. They made only two line breaks against Munster, whose 12 entries into the opposition 22 was double that of the Westerners.
Wilkins said the players remain in a positive headspace but admitted there is a big frustration that their attack hasn't clicked.
"We always associated Connacht as being this free-playing, free-spirited attacking side, and it has changed."
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) November 29, 2022
Murray Kinsella analyses Connacht's struggles in attack against Munster. #RTERugby #AgainstTheHead pic.twitter.com/fUtszpWxN5
"It was a constructive but confronting day of review yesterday [Monday], and that continued a little bit this morning," said Wilkins.
"That’s exactly what they needed. It is players taking ownership of mistakes and decision-making, but not just that. It’s one thing fronting the group and saying, 'look, I messed that up and I own that’, but it’s also coming up with solutions for what you as an individual or a team would do better the next time. That’s where the solutions are.
"They certainly didn’t need picking up emotionally. There was a fiery determination that we let ourselves down and need to do better. They did use yesterday well in that sense.
"We just had a good training session in terms of the energy and the intent around it. There is certainly frustration but there’s an enormous amount of energy and will to make it right."
Ireland international Mack Hansen could face Benetton after returning to full training on Monday following a thigh injury, but Byron Ralston is ruled out after hurting his shoulder against Munster.
Cool. Calm. Collective. 🦁
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) November 26, 2022
Dewaldt Duvenage masterful vision 👀#BKTURC #URC | #BENvEDI |@BenettonRugby pic.twitter.com/gIOSRYFEYC
Benetton will travel to Galway buoyed by Saturday’s win over Edinburgh, where they survived the early dismissal of debutant Matteo Minozzi and two 10-minute spells with 13 players to claim a bonus-point win.
The Italians have won four of their five home games this season and sit eighth in the URC table, but they have struggled badly on the road, conceding 95 points in three one-sided away defeats.
"They’re an interesting team to analyse because they’re pretty low in the rankings for possession and territory, and for points scored, but they’re very effective on their day," said Wilkins.
"That’s partly because they’re very good at goal-kicking and they take their opportunities when they come. If your discipline lets them have those opportunities they will punish you on the scoreboard, and they’ve got big powerful runners who are generating tackle breaks for them.
"If anyone clocks off in defence or isn’t effective on their one-on-one collisions, they will get in behind you and have a chance to use some of the x-factor players they have in their back three.
"It’s an interesting challenge. As a team they’re not presenting huge numbers but there’s certainly individuals in there who make them tick.
"It’s important we’re effective with the possession we’ve got. If they’re going to kick the ball to us, and they do keep the ball in when they do that, we’ve got to use it really well. We can’t just kick return it and wait for them to get bored.
"We’ve got to be effective on the counter-attack and ask questions of them. If we do that it’ll give us a real opportunity."
Watch Connacht v Benetton live on RTÉ1 and RTÉ Player from 2.45pm on Saturday
