Conor Oliver: Connacht 'react well' to play-off race pressure

Conor Oliver believes Connacht revel in "pressure situations" as the province chases down a play-off place in the BKT United Rugby Championship.

Currently sixth in the table on 44 points, Pete Wilkins' men face Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday (5.15pm, live on RTÉ).

Connacht picked up 11 points from their last three regular-season games last year to finish seventh.

That meant a quarter-final away to Ulster which they subsequently won before losing to the Stormers in South Africa a week later.

This time around the race for the top-eight is even tighter with a home game against the fifth-place Stormers to come next weekend before a Round-18 trip to the RDS to face Leinster.

"Most games now are 'must-win’," said 28-year-old Connacht flanker Oliver, who made 27 appearances for Munster between 2016 and 2020.

"We’ve been in this position before and as a team when these pressure situations come, we react very well.

"There is always added pressure when it’s play-offs at this time of the season. Every team in the URC is feeling it this year, you look how tight the table is.

"A little bit of added pressure, but as a team we have to take it game by game and then come back in on a Monday and reevaluate where we are at and where we are sitting."

With just six points separating 11th-place Lions and the Stormers, results elsewhere are going to play a huge part in deciding the final standings.

"If we won one and picked up bonus points we would be in the mix but you know this league table can flip its head week after week with the way results go," said Wilkins, whose side's win over Ulster last season was their only away victory over an Irish province since May 2021.

"Our aim is to do our very best and win this week."

While Connacht are looking