That’s one win from six now and seven vital Magners League points lost in the last 90 seconds of three games this season. There is plenty still to fix with this Connacht side and while holes were plugged in the hull early on, new ones are emerging and the sheer size of the task facing the management team is becoming clearer.

The counter argument from the top table will be the mantra ‘we are more competitive this season’. The stats show that Connacht are making progress in this regard.

Last year the westerners actually scored 16 more points in their first eight games but conceded a whopping 69 more. The average margin of defeat in five league reversals is 7 points this season, last year in six defeats it was 20.

So things must be better and the fact that they have picked up five extra points including six away from home as compared to none in the entire season last time around adds to the positives. However, the vast majority of the good work came in the opening month and since September that one win from six statistic is the most important. Things are slipping and a ‘regroup mentality’ is badly needed.

The term “new Connacht” has been transformed from a throw away and fairly innocent line in a press conference early on, into a full blown political slogan of late and when soundbites creep into sport everyone should cry stop.

If anything, “old Connacht” should be the target for this squad, the team of the mid 90s, with no money, few headlines and a paper thin management that travelled Europe and defied the odds, anyways, we digress. Those days are gone but resources cannot be used as an excuse for Friday. This was a blunt uninspiring Welsh side.

The Ospreys produced a smash and grab job in the 79th minute of this contest, with Jamie Nutbrown scoring under the post and Mathew Jarvis converting for a one point win with a glorified second team, in fact they were even missing players from their second string line up.  No Ospreys player stood out, they were eminently beatable and Connacht froze.

Early doors this year, the Connacht backline played heads up rugby, ran off shoulders attacked with vigor and rarely hesitated. That’s why there was such a ‘new’ feel to it all but that’s gone now.  We saw a glimpse of it in Treviso late on and in fairness Leinster didn’t give them the ball but for the large part, current Connacht are the same attacking threat they were early last year. Predictable.

Take the indefatigable Michael Swift out of the starting line up and you can find fault with every player on Friday but even then, they still looked sharper and more eager than their opponents throughout even if a lot of what they were trying was coming to nothing.

The problems are clear, cover in the front row remains an issue, the back row still can’t get to grips with the loss of George Noupu last summer. John Muldoon is needed at six, Ray Ofisa is injured and Ezra Taylor is struggling to become a dominant player at eight. Headache’s aplenty.

In the backline the spark is there, Eoin Griffin looked a real threat at 13 but wasn’t used well, Fionn Carr seemed off his top form (perhaps carrying a knock) while overall the half breaks were not readily being converted into full blown attacks.

More of a spark from Murphy is needed at nine while the jury remains deadlocked on the Nikora/Keatley debate which only adds to the uncertainty.  Connacht are trying to move the ball sharply but for a multitude of reasons it is not having the same affect as it had back during September’s blistering start to the season.

The game was a dour scrappy affair overall with Connacht leading 9-6 at half time. The second half began with a flurry of attacks and no points to show, 18 year old out half Mathew Morgan leveled matters with a drop goal and missed with another attempt and his side couldn’t even make use of an extra man with Bernie Upton in the sin bin.

All that came before Connacht turned on the gas in the closing ten minutes and inspired by Swift, McCarthy and others garnered two penalties in quick succession which Nikora struck for a 15-9 lead and a seemingly winning position. Alas, there was a twist in the tale which stemmed from one of many infuriatingly baffling calls from Scottish referee Peter Allen.

The Ospreys had 16 players missing on international duty and six sidelined with injury, that’s a squad right there. Time and again they come here understrength and win and what is totally baffling is the fact that Connacht’s last win against them was in 2006 when they fielded a full strength side with 15 fully internationals including Justin Marshall, Shane Williams and James Hook.

Everything changes it seems, yet so much stays the same.