JACK CARTY IS hoping that the devastating cameo he produced after coming on against Benetton on Friday night sets the template for the remainder of the season.
The 26-year old returned from his Irish debut to score 10 points in the final quarter and set up a second try for Matt Healy as Connacht maintained control of their destiny in third place on scoring difference over Cardiff Blues after a 29-14 win over the Italians.
But now they will turn their attention to the European Challenge Cup quarter-final away to Sale Sharks on Friday and Carty said they have plenty to prove.
“We have been there and thereabouts the last couple of years. Last year we had the quarter-final against Gloucester here. We probably didn’t show up.
Click Here: Rugby Shirts
“Then the year before we had a play-off game and it went down the wire in Toulouse. We have been there before but it’s about taking the final step now to push on, and get into the semi-final and win something.”
Carty’s conversion of his late try saw him become Connacht’s top scorer in the history of the league, but the Athlone man still has a long way to go to catch the province’s all-time top scorer Eric Elwood, who amassed a haul of 1,308 during his career which spanned the amateur and professional era.
Elwood scored 473 points in Europe, 318 points in the Celtic League and Celtic Cup, all of which came in the professional era, while his haul of 247 points in the inter-pros also spanned the amateur days.