Connacht captain Cian Prendergast believes the province can take a lot of confidence into this Saturday's meeting with the Sharks in Galway, despite a losing start to the season.
They came out on the wrong side of a 35-33 thriller against Munster at Thomond Park in the opening round of the BKT United Rugby Championship, but arguably should have won the game having led on four separate occasions.
The small consolation for Pete Wilkins’ side will be their two losing bonus points, while there were a number of standout individual performances from debutants Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy and Piers O’Conor, as well as Josh Murphy and Mack Hansen.
The province welcome the Sharks to the Dexcom Stadium this weekend, which will be a first URC game of the season for the South Africans, after they defeated the Lions in the Currie Cup final on Saturday.
Prendergast says while Connacht will be frustrated at how they couldn’t close the deal against Munster, they’re bringing a lot of confidence back to Galway.
"We have got to stay on an even keel," the captain said.
"I think last year we started off really well, we rode the rollercoaster going too high, then getting too low, then high again, so I think for us [what is important is] getting an even keel, taking the good stuff, taking the bad stuff, learning from it and becoming a better side off the back of it for next week against the Sharks at home, which is a big home opener for us.
"We take pride in playing at the Sportsground and we are really looking forward to putting on a performance there next week."
The province will be without four of their starting side from Saturday for the Round 2 meeting with the Sharks, with Jack Aungier, Darragh Murray, Sean Jansen and Shayne Bolton set to link up with Emerging Ireland this week, as well as loosehead Jordan Duggan, centre Hugh Gavin and scrum-half Matthew Devine.
To soften the blow, head coach Pete Wilkins (above) has hinted that Ireland prop Finlay Bealham could become available to feature, while Bundee Aki is likely to be a week further away.
"I’m at peace with it," Wilkins said of the prospect of losing seven players for the next few weeks.
"I think the tour itself is a really good thing for Irish rugby. I think we saw from the growth of the players who went on that trip two years ago, of how it set them up for success in terms of provincial and some of them for their international careers. So, I fully support the tour.
"For me, it’s not disruptive because we have had really open lines of communication with the Irish management, whether it is David Humphreys, Andy Farrell and Simon Easterby more recently, he assumed responsibility for the tour.
"We have known all the way along in terms of the long list of players who are on their radar over the last couple of months and as that list has shortened they have been up front and they have listened to our concerns around position groups or depth in terms of who we have got to replace the guys they might be looking at.
"So, we are working together with them on that. Obviously it changes the dynamic of who you have got available but we have to adapt and it will give other guys an opportunity and those players will come back better."
Connacht’s attacking game caused Munster real problems, with the 33 points being their highest points total they’ve scored at Thomond Park in the league.
The availability of both Hansen and Santiago Cordero had a major impact on their attack, with the pair playing together for the first time, after they were both heavily impacted by injury last season.
And Wilkins is excited about what the future holds for them in the team.
"It’s a huge difference. They are the type of players, on their day, it’s not just about creating attacking moments out of nothing, it’s about what they spark around them as well.
"You don’t necessarily need to create a one or a two-man overlap. Those guys can turn a two-v-two into a line break and I think to have that kind of calibre of player around, and the more they build a combination it’s exciting for us."
