Eddie O'Sullivan: No evidence Connacht have solved defensive problems

Eddie O'Sullivan fears that Connacht's failure to fix their defensive issues during the summer could send their season into a tailspin.

Connacht had the sixth-worst defence in last season’s BKT United Rugby Championship, conceding 67 tries in eight matches, and those problems have continued into this campaign.

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The Westerners shipped 13 tries in their opening three matches as they were beaten by Ulster, the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls, and the pressure is already mounting ahead of Friday’s derby with Munster on the new 4G pitch at the Sportsground.

"Connacht’s attack is worth watching, they do score points and play a nice brand of rugby with the ball, but you can’t be exciting with the ball and without it," former Ireland boss O’Sullivan said on Against The Head.

"You’ve got to stop the opposition from scoring so easily. There’s no evidence this season that they’ve changed that. That’s going to be a huge bugbear."

Having suffered on the road in the opening three rounds, Connacht now play three successive home games against Munster, Leinster and the Scarlets, and O’Sullivan warned they must get some points on the board soon or their campaign could crumble.

"The problem here is you need to get success at some point," said O’Sullivan.

"When you lose two games, then three, and it ticks into four, the players start to lose their energy, they worry, tension comes into the team. It’s harder to get the first victory then. They need at some point to do something.

"Next weekend is a