Richie Murphy on
Connacht analysis
Delighted to get the five points after coming back from South Africa and there was a lot of pressure on us to perform. I thought in a lot of periods of the game we did well, the commitment was there from the start, the physicality was right up, the guys were going for it early on. At times we lost our way with turnovers in midfield, we didn't kick the ball enough at times and Connacht are playing with great confidence at the moment, playing some good rugby and obviously capitalised on some of our mistakes.
At half-time to go in two points ahead, it had felt like we should have been twelve points up. We showed good character in the second half to finish it off.
Message at half-time
A little bit of ill-discipline and not playing in the right areas of the park. We gave some away around our 50m line that put them down into our corner and invited more pressure. We also got done for talking back to the referee so that's something we want to address and sort out quickly.
The guys are delighted, five points is what we were hoping for and we want to back it up against Ospreys.
We got a really good start to the game, it was great to see our maul back and getting some dominance there. Our pick and go around the goal line was a positive. Our scrum was really good, Jimmy Duffy has done a lot during training and the players have responded.
On his son, Ben, scoring for the away side
I could see it happening and when he seen the gap, I knew nobody would catch him because he's extremely quick and playing with confidence. From a father's point of view I'm proud of the player he's becoming and he's done a good job for Connacht over the last few games.
On Jude Postlethwaite
He is in a good place, working hard and has a great attitude. We are happy with the player he is becoming, he has a lot to improve on but he's 6'4, 105 kg he's hard to stop when he get's up and running.
Player milestones
They showed how much they wanted to play for the lads. We had Al on 200, Andy Warwick on 200 and Nick on 150. All three had a big impact on the game, Nick especially - I thought he was really tough today in and around the breakdown and took a step forward.
Impact from bench
James McCormick came on for his fourth cap, made a big impact with his physicality and showed that he can perform at this level. Corrie came on later on in the game and the scrum stayed nice and steady. Ben Carson came in for Jude, same age as each other, so there is a lots of positives with building the depth in the squad.
Home importance
We have a great advantage here because the crowd get behind the team, that was something we talked about earlier in the week- to give them something to shout about. There was massive commitment from everyone that was on the pitch.
Saturday's Player of the Match, John Cooney, spoke to the press about a big win and his clever try in the first half.
On his Player of the Match award
Yeah, I still get slagged by the lads that I must be paying someone off! They never give me any compliments! I enjoyed it, I was really eager and was excited to get playing at home. I missed a few minutes so far this season so was buzzing to get back playing. Physically I feel very good so was buzzing to play.
Importance of win
Huge victory especially at home. It was probably great to watch! We have a young squad and we made things difficult for ourselves by losing some moments but we kept responding, scored a couple of good tries and great to win.
There was a swirling wind, a lot of what we planned went out the window with the rain coming in and how windy it was. The aerial battle was working well for us so we kept at it. We wanted to use the field and put the pressure back on them.
The try
The less I think the better I am! We thought about the play a few phases before and looking for that space. So it was maybe in my head and it opened up for me.
I hadn't scored against them before, even though it's a team I still have a lot of love for and have fond memories of. I was buzzing to score under the posts. They are always tough battles.
Message at half-time
It was frustrating as we were nine points up, we talked about kicking more and getting the ball up the field. It's a learning curve, a lot of new people in new positions and hopefully next time the mindset of being nine points up at halftime compared to two is huge. We do have to learn.
I've been playing for many years and I remember my first professional game of rugby I was off at half-time. It's the best way to learn, through difficulty and will be a learning curve for some of the younger players who have come out the other side and got the win.
South Africa was tough, not many go there and win. We prepared well by playing tough games away. Hopefully next week we can put it out again.
On playing with Al, Andy Warwick and Nick Timoney
All the old fellas! I've played with all of them since being here and I've probably been part of three-quarters of all those games. I've gone in the trenches with them many a time so three of the players I would do anything for. I won't mention any of them in particular because they are all warriors. It was great to be there.