Dave Heffernan: Connacht pack have responded to criticism

Dave Heffernan says Connacht are starting to the see the benefits from the home truths that were delivered during their tour of South Africa.

The set-piece dominance displayed in last weekend's win over Munster came less than a fortnight after forwards coach Dewald Senekal demanded his pack bring a greater physicality and "stop being the nice Connacht Irish boys that are fair play".

The Connacht forwards responded on their return to the Sportsground, lifting the roof with two early scrum penalties while Heffernan was on the money with all 14 of his lineout throws.

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Bernard Jackman and Murray Kinsella analysed Connacht's performance against Munster on Against The Head

"It hurt hearing that from your coach," said Heffernan of Senekal’s comments. "That's the last thing you want to be questioned on.

"I thought we fronted up big time against Bulls and Munster, so there was reaction, but we did have a real honest conversation about that after the first week in South Africa because we weren't bringing that edge that we needed.

"As a pack overall, we had our review [of the Munster game] and were reasonably happy but there's plenty of room to improve.

"On a personal level, I was I was pretty happy with my form, it was pretty solid. I was a bit disappointed with some of my set-piece stuff in the first couple of games, so 100% at the weekend was definitely pleasing, but it doesn't mean much unless we build on it next week and in the games coming forward.

"It's definitely a big step in