It may be the first time the Heineken Cup is coming to the Sportsground but it won’t be the first time some of Connacht’s players have played in the competition. Johnny O’Connor (London Wasps), Adrian Flavin (London Irish), Gavin Duffy (NEC Harlequins), Frank Murphy (Leicester Tigers) and Mike McCarthy (Newcastle Falcons) have all played in the tournament during their time with other clubs. We caught up with some of them to get their views on the Heineken Cup coming to Galway:

Former London Irish and current Connacht hooker Adrian Flavin:
“It’s great to be in the Heineken Cup, it’s the highlight of rugby in the Northern Hemisphere, everyone wants to do well in it and we’ll be no different to that. It’s great to see Connacht being drawn against Toulouse, we (London Irish) were the only team to beat them in Europe when they won the Cup in ’03 so I know what the atmosphere can be like playing against them. Playing down there is a completely different experience, the fans, the stadium, the noise; it’s a huge experience.

Versatile forward Mike McCarthy, who passed the 100 cap mark for Connacht this season said:
“It’s great to play in the top competition as obviously that’s where every team wants to be. You know you are playing against the best teams around. The difference compared to Amlin or Magners i would say is that it is slightly faster, more physical and every team you play will raise their game because they are playing in arguably the best club competition in the world. Having Connacht in the Heineken cup means a lot to everyone not just in Connacht but the whole of Ireland. Obviously it is very special to all the players and management but we are very proud to be in it for our supporters and fans and we look forward to giving them some big days out at The Sportsground. I suppose getting in is the easy part and now we must perform to the best we can. Obviously it’s been a long, long wait for Connacht getting into the Heineken cup but we all feel we deserve our chance having finished above Treviso, Aironi and Glasgow in the Magners League whom are all in the Heineken cup. Even though it’s been our best league finish for a number of years there were a good number of games which we really let slip so we know ourselves that we could have and should have had a better finish but we’re looking forward to the start of next season now and the arrival of Heineken Cup rugby to the Sportsground.”