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PRESIDENT’s<br />
WELCOME<br />
THank You To Our Partners for<br />
their continued support<br />
To all supporters,<br />
I’m delighted to welcome you here to<br />
Dexcom Stadium today for our latest<br />
BKT United Rugby Championship fixture<br />
against Welsh side Scarlets. I hope you<br />
have a pleasant and enjoyable afternoon<br />
at the home of rugby in Connacht.<br />
This is our first home fixture in over 6<br />
weeks so it’s great to be back. Last time<br />
out was a truly memorable occasion,<br />
as we made the historic renaming of<br />
the ground official, and we finished our<br />
Investec Champions Cup campaign on a<br />
high with the win over Bristol – thereby<br />
ensuring qualification to the knockouts of<br />
the Challenge Cup. The prise is a trip to<br />
Pau later in the season and I know there’s<br />
plenty fans who’ve already booked flights<br />
and tickets to make their way over there.<br />
Stadium Partner<br />
Official Partners<br />
Principal Partner<br />
It’s customary at this time of year for<br />
Ireland to take centre stage, so I’m<br />
thrilled that tonight’s game is another<br />
sold-out affair. The appetite for live rugby<br />
remains as high as ever, and with every<br />
point crucial in the race to the playoffs, I<br />
know you can make the difference to the<br />
15 men who start tonight’s game.<br />
The club & schools finals season has really<br />
kicked into gear, with the Bank of Ireland<br />
J1A and J1B League finals due to be played<br />
here tomorrow. Then we have the Schools<br />
Cup semi-finals next week, before the Bank<br />
of Ireland Senior Cup final in Sligo a week<br />
from today. The best of luck to all teams<br />
taking part.<br />
Today we celebrate Origin Round in<br />
the <strong>URC</strong>, and pay tribute to the men<br />
and women who helped our players on<br />
their journey to the professional status<br />
they now enjoy. Eight of Connacht’s<br />
matchday 23 came through the Connacht<br />
pathway system via our clubs, schools<br />
and academy, and it’s brilliant that will<br />
be wearing the socks of their respective<br />
first club/school to acknowledge where<br />
they came from. It’s particularly fitting in<br />
Origin Round that Eoin de Buitlear enjoys<br />
his first Connacht start today, given the<br />
role that the community in An Cheathrú<br />
Rua played in his development. A<br />
congratulations to him and all his friends<br />
and family.<br />
While we continue to be impressed by the<br />
Ireland senior and U20 teams in the Six<br />
Nations, a particular congratulations must<br />
go to the 14 women named in the Ireland<br />
senior women and U18 squads. This is a<br />
phenomenal number and speaks volumes of<br />
the work that’s being done at all levels. Well<br />
done everyone.<br />
Finally I’d like to welcome our visitors from<br />
Llanelli to the West of Ireland. We hope you<br />
have a safe trip home and look forward to<br />
returning the favour next season.<br />
Michael O’Hehir<br />
Connacht Rugby President, 2023/24<br />
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Coach PREVIEW<br />
“The positive thing was the win<br />
for us in that game and that’s<br />
what we did”<br />
“We’re looking forward to being<br />
back home this weekend against<br />
Scarlets and being in front of<br />
our supporters where we can<br />
produce a quality performance<br />
for them”<br />
The last four games at Dexcom<br />
Stadium have seen sell out<br />
crowds and produced incredible<br />
athmosphere in each of those<br />
which Tucker expects again.<br />
“Our supporters are fantastic<br />
and its special being here on<br />
good nights with the noise they<br />
make and how they get behind<br />
the team”<br />
Heading into this game against<br />
Scarlets the coaches have<br />
plenty of bodies to choose in<br />
the forwards which Tucker is<br />
delighted about.<br />
“Its a great place as coaches for<br />
us to be in”<br />
“It drives standards when you<br />
have so many players available<br />
to play and wanting to get in the<br />
starting 15”<br />
“The better you train the more<br />
compeition and the better you<br />
are”<br />
It’s Round 11 of the BKT United<br />
Rugby Championship (Origin<br />
Round) and Connacht welcome<br />
Scarlets to Dexcom Stadium<br />
k/o 5.05pm.<br />
It will be Connacht’s first home<br />
game in over a month when<br />
they last played Bristol in the<br />
Champions Cup. Speaking<br />
ahead of this weekends game<br />
was Scrum & Contact coach<br />
Colm Tucker.<br />
“The first block of games we<br />
had 13 games in-a-row and now<br />
we’re in segmented areas”<br />
“We saw against Cardiff the last<br />
day out we were a bit rusty in<br />
certain areas but we grinded<br />
out the win which has given us<br />
momentum where training has<br />
been good as we look forward to<br />
Scarlets”<br />
Connacht came away from<br />
Cardiff winning 16-12 at Cardiff<br />
Arms Park in Round 10, a win that<br />
keeps them very much in the hunt<br />
for the play-offs.<br />
“Conditions in Cardiff were<br />
particularly hard which didn’t<br />
help us or the game really”
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Player PREVIEW<br />
“I just love playing and being out<br />
on the pitch with the lads”<br />
“The big games like these are the<br />
games you want to play in”<br />
“There’s a buzz in these games that<br />
just give you that extra kick”<br />
“From previous interpro derbies<br />
you have to take a quick moment<br />
and look around just to see what<br />
size the crowd is”<br />
“I know it gets said a lot but a full<br />
house at The Sportsground and<br />
the crowd doing their thing really<br />
makes you think you’re plaiying in<br />
front of three or four times more<br />
people in he stands than what there<br />
is”<br />
The last five meeting between these<br />
two teams have seen very little in<br />
the outcome and no doubt today’s<br />
game will be a huge battle.<br />
“Munster are coming up here as<br />
defending champions”<br />
“They have a lot of injuries but they<br />
have a strong squad and players just<br />
waiting to take their chance”<br />
“We’re confident against any team<br />
we play but we also respect every<br />
team we play”<br />
Having joined in the 2022/23<br />
season, Shamus Hurley-Langton<br />
has become a fan favourite<br />
around The Sportsground and a<br />
coach and players dream to work<br />
with during his time out west.<br />
Also known as ‘Moose’, our kiwi<br />
flanker continues to grow in the<br />
green jersey.<br />
“I’ve really enjoyed my time here”<br />
“I came over here wanting to<br />
play but I knew I needed to prove<br />
myself and take my chance when<br />
it came”<br />
“That drive still continues for me<br />
though”<br />
“Each week I need keep proving<br />
myself and make sure I perform<br />
when I get the chance”<br />
“We have a lot of quality players in<br />
the back row and that really helps<br />
the competition and keeping us all<br />
on our toes”<br />
Having played 28 times for<br />
Connacht so far and scoring five<br />
tries (three this season), Moose is<br />
looking forward to this inetrpro<br />
derby on New Years Day.
PLAYER PREVIEW<br />
“During pre-season I worked<br />
closely with the S&C team<br />
trying to build more muscle<br />
mass and work on my power<br />
and speed”<br />
Saturday will be Connacht’s<br />
first home game since last<br />
month against Bristol, their<br />
first in the <strong>URC</strong> since the New<br />
Years Day win over Munster.<br />
“The whole group are excited<br />
about Saturday”<br />
“We’ve built a nice bit of<br />
momentum over the last few<br />
games which we’ve won”<br />
“We know with any Welsh team<br />
is a tough side to play like it<br />
was two weeks ago against<br />
Cardiff”<br />
“I know Scarlets haven’t been<br />
going well but they have a lot<br />
of quality and have players<br />
who can hurt any team when<br />
they have ball in hand”<br />
“It will be a challenge but we’ve<br />
trained well and we’re ready to<br />
go”<br />
Having missed games against<br />
Lyon and Bristol in the<br />
Champions Cup due to injury,<br />
Cathal Forde made his return<br />
the last day out away to<br />
Cardiff wearing the number<br />
12 jersey alongside David<br />
Hawkshaw.<br />
The Galway man will be hoping<br />
to be selected again this<br />
weekend as Scarlets come to<br />
town for Round 11 of the BKT<br />
United Rugby Championship.<br />
“It was good to be back the<br />
last day against Cardiff after a<br />
couple of weeks out”<br />
“When you aren’t out there<br />
with the lads it can be tough<br />
to watch at times, all you can<br />
hope for is the lads to put on a<br />
performance and win”<br />
Last season saw Cathal really<br />
break into the starting fifteen,<br />
in only his second season he<br />
made 11 appearances in total<br />
and this season continues to<br />
grow as a key player for the<br />
province.<br />
“I feel like I have stepped up<br />
this year and learned a lot from<br />
last season”
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ACADEMY MANAGEMENT<br />
Tim<br />
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Director of<br />
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Operations<br />
pete<br />
wilkins<br />
Head Coach<br />
Colm<br />
tucker<br />
Scrum &<br />
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Eric<br />
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to be an electric atmosphere, this<br />
match is not to be missed. The Bank<br />
of Ireland J1B League Final is at 1:00<br />
PM on Sun, 3rd March in Dexcom<br />
Stadium.<br />
The second, and last, final of the<br />
day will see last year’s JlA Leaue<br />
champions Creggs RFC face threetime<br />
champions since 2014/15<br />
Connemara RFC in the Bank of<br />
Ireland J1A League Final. One of the<br />
most enjoyable competitive rivalries<br />
of the season, this final is going to<br />
be a thriller with both teams wellversed<br />
in what a final entails.<br />
the University of Galway in Round<br />
2 of the League competition where<br />
they edged the college side by just 2<br />
points. Creggs’ near-perfect record<br />
in the League was blemished only<br />
by a loss in Round 3 by Connemara<br />
themselves who beat the home side<br />
21-10 on that occasion.<br />
However, Creggs breezed through<br />
their Semi-Final against Tuam RFC<br />
with a decisive 37-7 win and are<br />
ready to face the All-Blacks again<br />
in Dexcom Stadium where they will<br />
surely be a team with a clear mission<br />
of bringing home the trophy.<br />
This Sunday, 3rd March sees the<br />
next day of Bank of Ireland Club and<br />
Schools finals in Dexcom Stadium.<br />
The J1B League Final will take place<br />
at 1:00 PM followed by the J1A<br />
League Final at 3:30 PM.<br />
The first final of the day is the Bank<br />
of Ireland J1B League Final which<br />
will see Ballinasloe RFC take on<br />
Buccaneers RFC 2nds. These two<br />
teams are no strangers to each<br />
other, having faced off in Round 2 of<br />
the J1B League where Buccaneers<br />
won 23-18 and then again in the Bank<br />
of Ireland Junior Cup Quarterfinal<br />
just last weekend where Buccaneers<br />
came away with a 22-15 win. The J1B<br />
League competition proved to be a<br />
thrilling one with many close contests,<br />
including Ballinasloe’s Semi-Final<br />
against Corinthians 2nd where they<br />
came out with a 38-33 win to see them<br />
into the final against table-toppers<br />
Buccaneers.<br />
Ballinasloe have proven to be a strong<br />
side, making the J1B final after winning<br />
the J1C final last season. Buccaneers<br />
only fell to Sligo RFC 2nds in their<br />
League campaign this season and<br />
topped the table with many impressive<br />
displays of rugby.<br />
These two sides are both incredibly<br />
talented and equally matched. Sure<br />
Also having met in the Junior<br />
Cup Quarterfinal last weekend,<br />
Creggs will be looking forward to<br />
the rematch after falling just short<br />
of the win. Coming into the final,<br />
Connemara have swept the board<br />
with their closest win being against<br />
The Bank of Ireland J1A League Final<br />
is at 3:30 PM on Sun, 3rd March in<br />
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