Pointless exercise against Leinster adds importance to Connacht's Dragons clash

For the first time this season, Connacht prepare for a game coming off the back of a pointless exercise.

Pete Wilkins' side have won two and lost three of their BKT URC games so far but last weekend's defeat to Leinster was the first time they failed to register a bonus point.

They picked up a brace of points in losses to Munster and Ulster, while they accumulated nine in their wins over Sharks and Scarlets.

With just one game left before a four-week break for the autumn internationals, the result from tomorrow's visit of Dragons to the Dexcom Stadium will dictate the mood around the Galway-based side for the best part of a month.

Win handsomely against a Welsh side in 14th, with one victory to their name, and Connacht will sit back and recuperate with 18 points, pleased with a solid start to the season.

Lose for a third weekend in a row and they'll have to stew in the bitter taste of defeat, lumbering around mid-table.

With that in mind, could there be a temptation to "dial it back" a bit, a question posed to Paul Boyle about their attacking style of play? Play a slightly more conservative, risk-averse game in order to beat Dragons by the book, getting the basics right.

"Well, our plan definitely isn't to dial it back," said the number 8, whose side are ranked third of 16 in the attack stakes but have conceded a league-high 153 points.

"We've spoken about it and Prendo [captain Cian Prendergast] spoke really well about keep building and keep attacking the game.

"We've got to do that our way and on our terms and that's by going out and attacking the game. We definitely want to play at our pace and there's so many things that come into that.

"We need to win our lineout, we need to have a scrum going forward and our breakdown needs