One of the prevailing thoughts that came from Connacht's 35-33 defeat to Munster last Saturday was 'what if?'.
It wasn’t a 'What if their late penalty to the corner had found touch?' or 'What if they had held out for a famous win.
It was a 'what if?' that went back to last season.
It can be easy to look back at how The Westerners' season fizzled out in 2023/24, culminating in an 11th-place finish, but it could have been so much different had they not seen such big injuries to big players.
The long-term injuries to Santiago Cordero and Mack Hansen were a regular discussion point with the province in the second half of last season, but the collective loss was never fully realised until last Saturday.
For the opening game of the BKT United Rugby Championship season, Pete Wilkins’ backline caught fire. New signings Ben Murphy and Josh Ioane looked like they’ve been playing together for years, while even the loss of Shayne Bolton didn’t knock them off their stride, with David Hawkshaw coming in and scoring their fourth try from outside centre.
While he didn’t score, Hansen looked on top form in his first game since January, creating the opportunity that led to Connacht’s second try of the game, which was scored by Murphy.
It’s not lost on head coach Pete Wilkins that Saturday’s defeat in Limerick was the first time he has been able to pick Hansen and Cordero in the same team, and with so many "X-factor" players now available to the province’s backline, Wilkins wants to let them off the leash.
"It's about making sure we get the balance between the flow and shape of the team, but also making sure all of the players are empowered to see something and just go for it," Wilkins said of their attacking flair.
"You saw some lovely examples, particularly from Mack in terms of just trusting his instinct and breaking out of team shape on the weekend, and us getting really good returns."
Everything in moderation though.
"At the same time, you don't want three or four guys looking for those spaces at the same time.
"From a coaching point of view, it's getting that balance, it's knowing that there is a team flow, that there is a team shape, but that within that framework, those guys have licence to pick off the moments and express themselves.
"It's something we'll watch with interest to see how it evolves now that we have those guys playing alongside each other. When it does click, and as it clicks in patches of games, you'll see the excitement it can generate."
One thing that will have excited Connacht supporters is how their backline flowed, despite being run by a half-back combination who were playing their first game together.
Scrum-half Murphy and out-half Ioane caused Munster major issues defensively, combining for three first half tries, and Wilkins admits the duo have now had their card marked by the rest of the league.
"I spoke to them in the changing rooms immediately after the game and touched base with them again yesterday at the start of this game week. A lot of that was giving them the credit for what was a very good performance from the pair of them.
"Also it was reinforcing the fact that a lot of what they did well was going after the simple things within the game, facilitating us playing fast, kicking at the right times, kicking accurately.
"In Ben's case it was speed of service and in Josh's case it was taking the right options, so I think if it had been Harlem Globetrotters stuff - although there were some real highlight moments, quality play - I think 90% of what they did was doing the little things really, really well."
The province welcome the Sharks to Galway this Saturday for their first home game of the season, at what is a new-look Dexcom Stadium (above).
Since their most recent home game in May, the venue formerly known as The Sportsground has turned into a building site, with the old Clan Terrace knocked down and construction ongoing on their new North Stand and High Performance Centre, which are part of a €40m redevelopment.
With no Clan Terrace, capacity at the stadium has been reduced to below 4,000, although Wilkins is confident it won’t make the ground any less intimidating for visiting teams.
"Yeah, it’s three-sided and the side with the old Clan Terrace just hoarding now, so it will be different. I’m not concerned and I say that with full respect for the really special atmosphere that was always generated by the Clan Terrace.
"But I think the key thing is that we’ll have the same supporters in the building. They might be in a slightly different spot but they’ll be there with all the energy and passion as usual. And I think the key thing is us and our performance as a team. If we can give them enough to get excited about the atmosphere will take care of itself.
"I’m looking forward to it. I can’t wait. We’re sold out from my understanding and that will add another dose of energy to the team as we go into it."
Watch Zebre v Munster in the URC on Saturday from 2.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
