Connacht director of rugby Andy Friend expressed his pride in young centre Cathal Forde, after he inspired their bonus-point win against the Cell C Sharks at the Sportsground.
In just his fifth appearance for the province, the 21-year-old produced a Player of the Match display, scoring two of their four tries as Connacht returned to winning ways following their successive defeats in the last fortnight.
More accustomed to playing out-half, Friend gave Forde a start in the centre in the hope of offering his side a left-footed kicking option, and it paid dividends against a Sharks side that struggled to deal with the wind and rain in Galway.
"We're really proud of the performance," Friend said of Forde.
"It's a pretty hard-fought position, the 12 spot. David Hawkshaw got an injury last week, we have Tom Daly, Bundee Aki, Fordey comes in and thoroughly deserved that man of the match performance.
"What he did was he made his tackles, he chopped low, and when he carried, he carried with real intent. You could see his left boot, he took a couple of kicks for touch, he worked his backside off, and he got the fourth try because he worked so hard.
"He did the simple things well, but he's a very accomplished rugby player. He'll have known there was a lot of pressure on him tonight, with the selection, which was a compliment and a credit to him, but he stood up to that."
Forde's first try had given Connacht a 12-0 buffer, but the turning point came right on half time when Tiernan O'Halloran's score, converted by Jack Carty, made it 19-0, and provided an extra cushion to the hosts as they played into a howling wind in the second half.
'We knew what we had to do' - Player of the Match Cathal Forde savours a job well done for Connacht #RTErugby #URC pic.twitter.com/rMHq9dY7cn
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) January 7, 2023
"That's enormous for you," Friend said of the third try.
"That's a big turnaround, it's probably a bigger dent for the opposition, I was talking to Joey [Mongalo, Sharks coach], and if it had been 12-0 they'd have had a bit more belief.
"When it turns into 19-0 that hurts you more. To see Tiernan go over when he did was pleasing, and for Jack to nail the kick was pleasing, it definitely helps you.
"I was nervous, because they can be a banana skin for you, where people knock off and there's an assumption that the team that turns up isn't their strongest team. As you saw tonight, they [Sharks] never stopped trying, they're still good footballers, so it's nice to get the bonus-point."
With six games to go, Connacht face an uphill battle to get into the top eight of the table and secure playoff rugby and possibly a place in the Champions Cup next season, but Friend believes they can find extra gears in the final third of the season.
"I said after last week's game I honestly feel we're hon the verge of clicking, so to see that come through on a night like tonight in particular, with the style of rugby we tried to play, and the belief we had, and for the tries to stick, it's a compliment to the team.
"I don't study it enormously [the table], I know we have six games left, we know we have to keep winning, keep getting points, but that's within our control. Next two weeks we're in Challenge Cup, and then we have the Lions to finish this block, and over the Six Nations we have some games to put us back in URC contention.
"If we can keep winning like that, the playoffs are in our control."
