Elwood hails O’Connor’s nerve

Connacht coach Eric Elwood hailed Niall O’Connor after the out-half landed a dramatic equalising penalty with the last kick of the game at the Sportsground.

O’Connor has enjoyed mixed luck with the boot in his maiden season at the Sportsground and that continued on Saturday night when he missed his first two kicks with the strong wind at his back.

But the produced the goods when he steered a penalty from 25 metres on the right-wing into the teeth of the wind to salvage a draw.

“Fair dues to Niall. It was a pressure kick on the wrong side for a right-footed player close to the touchline.

“It was a good strike but it just got over but fair dues to Niall under pressure,” said Elwood.

He felt that given the poor quality of the performance on Saturday night, it was as much as they deserved from the game.

“From our point of view this was a case of two points won because I think we have to put our hands up and say it wasn’t a great game of rugby.

“We were very poor in the first-half, slightly better in the second-half. We got a kick at the end of the game to get two points so we are more happy than the opposition coach I would imagine,” added Elwood.