2 days ago 
Are you/do you know a Mini Rugby Player in Connacht? We need your help!
Our mascot Eddie the Eagle is really missing getting out to visit the clubs and schools in Connacht this year.
How can we cheer Eddie up? Well, he would love for you to create a drawing welcoming him back to your club/school.
Maybe Eddie is scoring a try in your club/school jersey, visiting your club/school with some other Connacht players or jumping in a lineout… be as creative as possible! Just make sure to include Eddie and your rugby club/school in the drawing.
Send your drawings into us by Monday 22 March so we can show Eddie.
All you need to do is:
– Draw Eddie being welcomed at your club.
– Take a picture of your drawing and send to: [email protected] with subject Line: ‘Welcome Eddie back to your club’.
– On the email please ensure to include your Name, Age and Club/School.
All pictures will be displayed through the Connacht Rugby social media channels from Wednesday 24 >March. Your club/school will also receive the drawings we receive.
By John O’Sullivan
Connacht Eagles 24-24 Munster A
A late Shane Jennings try earned the Connacht Eagles a 24-24 draw with Munster A in an entertaining clash at the Sportsground.
Tries from Dylan Tierney Martin and Diarmuid Kilgallen saw the hosts lead 12-0 midway through the first half, but Munster — with three tries and a penalty — turned the game around and lead 24-12 with fifteen minutes remaining.
However, Connacht never relented and claimed the draw after late tries from Stephen Kerins and Jennings saw them deservedly share the spoils after a thrilling attacking performance.
In the glorious Sportsground sunshine, Connacht were intent on playing with width and pace and this approach yielded scores early on.
After a cutting line and offload from lock Cian Prendergast, the home team established field position in Munster’s 22. Building phases with hard carries close to the line, the ball was worked to Tierney Martin and the former Ireland under 20’s hooker powered his way over the line. Fitzgerald made no mistake in adding the extras from the tee and the Eagles found themselves in a deserved 7-0 lead.
With their tails up, Connacht were playing with confidence and expression in the attack. Playing in the outside centre berth, Ben O’Donnell punctured through the Munster A defence and brought the hosts forward momentum.
From there, the ball was worked wide and the Eagles — who had a man advantage after the away teams winger, Calvin Nash was yellow carded for an intentional knock-on — took advantage of the space and Kilgallen dived in over the line in the left-hand corner for 12-0.
Munster grew into the contest thereafter and when Connacht were reduced to 14 men after Oran McNulty’s yellow card, the visitors responded with a quickfire 17 points. Jake Flannery started the scoring with a penalty and tries followed from Nash and Coombes, both of which Flannery converted, and the away team lead 17-10 going into the interval.
The away team began the second half in a similar manner to which they finished the first and they had their third try when Nash completed his brace by crossing the line in the right-hand corner to take the score to 24-10.
With fly-half Fitzgerald prominent in the creative stakes, Connacht grew into the game and began threatening the Munster defence.
A powerful line out was a prominent feature of the Eagles’ game plan and they used it as a platform to score their third try. With a rolling maul trundling towards the line, Kerins identified a gap in the away teams defence and he jinked through it to touch down for a try that Fitzgerald converted to take the score to 24-17.
With time running out, the hosts seized the initiative and their perseverance was rewarded with a deserved late try.
A huge run from Peter Sullivan burst through the Munster defence and brought Connacht into the visitors 22. From there, the ball was worked wide and Jennings showed pace to touch down in the left corner and to draw the game with effectively the last play.
Eagles Team:
(15-9)
15. Oran McNulty
14. Peter Sullivan
13. Ben O’Donnell
12. Cathal Forde
11. Diarmuid Kilgallen
10. Conor Fitzgerald
9. Colm Reilly
(1-8)
1. Charlie Ward
2. Dylan Tierney-Martin
3. Dominic Robertson-McCoy
4. Cian Prendergast
5. Ciaran Booth
6. Donnacha Byrne
7. Sean Masterson (c)
8. Abraham Papali’i
16. Declan Adamson
17. Eoin de Buitlear
18. Conor Kenny
19. Diarmuid McCormack
20. Oisin McCormack
21. Stephen Kerins
22. Shane Jennings
23. Hubert Gilvarry
24. Joshua Dunne
Live Stream of Connacht Eagles vs Munster ‘A’ from The Sportsground.
Saturday 6th March – K/O 12pm
By John O’Sullivan
Munster 20-17 Connacht
Connacht fell to a narrow 20-17 defeat to Munster in a physically draining interprovincial encounter at Thomond Park.
The Westerners crossed the line twice, with Matt Healy and Paul Boyle touching down, with Jack Carty also adding seven points with the boot. But it was the hosts who edged the victory, thanks to a late Joey Carbery penalty, which added to two tries via James Cronin and Mike Haley,
Gavin Thornbury won a richly deserved man of the match award and the away team pushed the hosts — who top the conference — all the way with a physical performance, both on and off the ball.
Connacht started the game with intent and looked to pressure Munster on and off the ball.
Thornbury stole an early line out which allowed the away team to kick for territory. Inside the Munster 22, the lock then charged down an attempted clearance kick and gave the Westerners the chance to feed a five-metre scrum.
From the set-piece platform, the ball was worked to Carty who floated a beautiful pass into the path of Healy, and the winger, with trademark evasion, skipped the attention of a Munster defender to touch down. The Roscommon man then added the conversion to give Connacht an early 7-0 lead.
Munster pushed forward in order to bring themselves back into the game, but their attempts were met with stubborn green resistance, especially in the set-piece where Thornbury and Ultan Dillane, in particular, were proving strong. Paul Boyle and John Porch also provided key interventions in holding the home team up twice over the line.
Eventually, though, their pressure told and Cronin barged his way over from short range and Ben Healy added the extras to tie the teams up at 7-7.
It didn’t take Connacht long to wrestle back the lead, however, as Carty — whose game management was generating attacking momentum for the visitors — sweetly struck a penalty to give the visitors the 10-7 lead they held going into the interval.
The home team began the second half in a strong fashion and they leveled the score up only three minutes after the interval when Healy slotted a penalty.
A yellow card for Bundee Aki meant Connacht were reduced to 14 men, but, despite the deficit in men, they were defensively strong and didn’t concede in the period. Thornbury was effective in defence in both the line out — where he stole Munster throws — and at the breakdown where he won two penalties.
With the Westerners so strong in defence, it would take something special to prize them open and that’s exactly what Haley provided when he brilliantly collected his own chip kick and touched down for a try that Joey Carbery converted to give the hosts a 17-10 lead.
Connacht dusted themselves down and went on the offensive, with Carty orchestrating their attack with authority. The Roscommon man’s grubber kick through found Healy, whose acceleration brought him through a gap and deep into the hosts territory.
More carries, from Carty and Caolin Blade, established field position in the Munster 22 and the hosts infringed when slowing down Connacht ball. Chris Cloete was sin-binned and the Westerners opted to take a scrum.
Building phases close to the line, the ball was worked to the right-hand side where Boyle noticed a slight gap and powered through it to touch down. Carty made no mistake with the conversion and the away team leveled the game once again at 17-17.
Connacht pushed and probed for the game-winning score, but it was Munster — with a Carbery penalty — who took the spoils late on and edged an extremely physical encounter.
Connacht team:
(15-9)
15: Tiernan O’Halloran
14: John Porch
13: Tom Daly
12: Bundee Aki
11: Matt Healy
10: Jack Carty
9: Caolin Blade
(8-1)
8: Paul Boyle
7: Conor Oliver
6: Jarrad Butler ©
5: Gavin Thornbury
4: Ultan Dillane
3: Finlay Bealham
2: Dave Heffernan
1: Denis Buckley
Replacements: Shane Delahunt, Matthew Burke, Jack Aungier, Niall Murray, Eoghan Masterson, Kieran Marmion, Sean O’Brien, Alex Wootton.
The Connacht Eagles team has been selected for the latest ‘A’ interprovincial friendly with Munster at The Sportsground tomorrow (k/o 12pm).
The side is captained by Sean Masterson with fellow Pro players Abraham Papali’i, Ben O’Donnell, Peter Sullivan, Conor Fitzgerald, Colm Reilly and Dominic Robertson-McCoy also starting.
Connacht Rugby can also confirm that the game will be streamed LIVE on the Connacht Rugby YouTube page at the link below.
CONNACHT EAGLES MATCHDAY SQUAD VS MUNSTER ‘A’
12pm, Saturday 6th March 2021 @ The Sportsground
15. Oran McNulty
14. Peter Sullivan
13. Ben O’Donnell
12. Cathal Forde
11. Diarmuid Kilgallen
10. Conor Fitzgerald
9. Colm Reilly
1. Charlie Ward
2. Dylan Tierney-Martin
3. Dominic Robertson-McCoy
4. Cian Prendergast
5. Ciaran Booth
6. Donnacha Byrne
7. Sean Masterson (c)
8. Abraham Papali’i
16. Declan Adamson
17. Eoin de Buitlear
18. Conor Kenny
19. Diarmuid McCormack
20. Oisin McCormack
21. Stephen Kerins
22. Shane Jennings
23. Hubert Gilvarry
24. Joshua Dunne
The Connacht management team have again drafted the three representatives in the Ireland Six Nations squad straight into the starting team for tomorrow’s crucial Guinness PRO14 interpro away to Munster (k/o 7.35pm).
Bundee Aki is retained at centre following his release from Ireland duty last weekend, while Dave Heffernan and Ultan Dillane both start at hooker and second row respectively.
In all there are 7 changes from the side that secured a last-minute win at Benetton. Denis Buckley comes into an experienced front row with Heffernan and Finlay Bealham, while Gavin Thornbury in in the the second row alongside Dillane.
Conor Oliver starts at openside flanker to face his former club, joining captain Jarrad Butler and Paul Boyle to complete the pack.
There’s a new look half-back pairing of Caolin Blade and Jack Carty, while there are also new faces on the wings with Matt Healy and John Porch coming into the starting line-up. 12, 13 and 15 are unchanged from the Benetton win with Aki, Tom Daly and Tiernan O’Halloran all retained.
In all 9 of the starting 15 are Connacht centurions as the side look to extend an all-time club record of 5 straight wins away from home.
Head Coach Andy Friend says the importance of the fixture is not lost on the squad.
“We know exactly what we need to do tomorrow night in Limerick. There has been barely any talk of securing Champions Cup qualification because our first objective has always been 1st place in the Conference B, so all our focus since last weekend has been on getting a win that gives us that fighting chance of a final spot.”
Regarding his team selection, Friend added:
“Thankfully we haven’t picked up any major injury worries in our last two games so we’ve a pretty healthy squad apart from our long-term absentees. We’ve named a very experienced starting XV but we’ve made sure to also reward those who showed good form in our last few games. Overall we’re in a positive place and we’re really looking forward to the challenge.”
Ahead of the game all Connacht players and management returned negative results in the latest round of PCR testing.
CONNACHT MATCHDAY 23 VS MUNSTER RUGBY
Friday 5th March, Thomond Park, kick-off 7.35pm
Name/Number/Caps
15. Tiernan O’Halloran (189)
14. John Porch (33)
13. Tom Daly (40)
12. Bundee Aki (108)
11. Matt Healy (145)
10. Jack Carty (151)
9. Caolin Blade (124)
1. Denis Buckley (194)
2. Dave Heffernan (138)
3. Finlay Bealham (152)
4. Ultan Dillane (108)
5. Gavin Thornbury (52)
6. Jarrad Butler (68) (C)
7. Conor Oliver (14)
8. Paul Boyle (52)
Replacements
16. Shane Delahunt (92)
17. Matthew Burke (19)
18. Jack Aungier (11)
19. Niall Murray (11)
20. Eoghan Masterson (104)
21. Kieran Marmion (178)
22. Sean O’Brien (Acad) (4)
23. Alex Wootton (15)
By John O’Sullivan
Forwards coach Jimmy Duffy says Connacht will need to be accurate in order to defeat Munster in Friday evening’s 7:35 pm Guinness PRO14 clash at Thomond Park.
Both teams are vying for first place in Conference B and subsequent final qualification with nine points separating Munster in first, 50 points, and Connacht in second, 41 points, meaning the game will likely have a big bearing on the final standings come the season’s end.
Duffy insists that the Westerners are intent on winning the game, and maintains that accuracy — in the set-piece, defence and attack — will be the determining factor in the interprovincial derby.
“For us, it’s about winning every moment,” the former Connacht second row said of the strategy against their southern rivals.
“We’re going to have to play for the whole 80 minutes, which we showed on the weekend(the victory over Benetton Rugby), which was good preparation. Obviously, Munster are flying it at the minute, so, for us, it’s about staying in the fight for as long as we need to and capitalise on the opportunities when they arise.
“They are a quality side. There’s a number of international players they have away with the Irish team at the moment, but what’s remaining there will be another full international pack, with another five or six guys who have played international rugby in the backline. They have got really, really good players and they believe in themselves and they work really hard. They have a very strong set-piece, good attacking game, good kicking game.
“They’ve got threats all over the park, either in midfielder or the back three or upfront. Quality operators who have been around the game a long time, so for us it’s just about matching that in all aspects and capitalising on the opportunities, as I said earlier.”
Meanwhile, Duffy says that the players’ confidence in their set-piece systems in the win over Benetton was pleasing to see as a forwards coach.
Turning down the opportunity to kick a penalty at goal and draw the game against the Italians, Connacht elected for the line out. The initial throw was turned over, but when the Westerners won another penalty they again kicked to the line. At the second time of asking, the rolling maul proved too powerful and Bundee Aki was the benefactor and touched down at the tail of the drive.
“We trusted the lads to make the right call,” the forward’s coach said of the final minutes away in Italy.
“We knew we had to ride a massive amount of weight that they would be throwing at us, Treviso hit that front side of the maul extremely hard. If you’re patient and just manage to slow it down, then you can actually create an opportunity.
“For me, it was very pleasing on the weekend that they went back and backed the system and got that opportunity, created it and scored, which was fantastic. It’s a huge part of the game and there’s a hairs breadth from being successful and not successful, but it was really, really pleasing. Oisin Dowling was the man who called that option, which is great and it was lovely to see him involved.”
Elsewhere, full-back Tiernan O’Halloran says that Connacht will have to impose their game-plan on Munster and not just look to contain the Thomond Park side.
The Irish international is confident that the squad trusts their strategy and will look to play the style that suits their strengths and that will lead to a win.
The initial meeting between the teams ended with a narrow, 10-16, win for the southern province and O’Halloran says that the Westerners recent away record — Connacht broke a club record for consecutive away leagues with five wins in a row after beating Benetton — gives them confidence that they can go to Limerick and return with a win.
“We’re not in any way going to go down there and try to shut up shop for 80 minutes and try to force mistakes from them,” the Clifden native said.
“We’re fully going down to win the game as well. I think if you look at everything since the pandemic happened with away records, and we have won five on the row on the road, and I think you have to factor in that the atmosphere usually at Thomond Park creates a lot of pressure. Any little mistakes and the crowd will feed off that. That in itself releases a slight bit of pressure as well and opens up the game a bit more and you can see teams are winning away from home much easier.
“Not in any way are we going down there to shut up shop, we’re happy to trust our game plan and trust what we can do. We have got our Irish lads released this week as well, so we will be fully stocked and loaded.”
Lend your voice to enhance player retention in Connacht
What is this research project about?
The Connacht Rugby vision and strategy plan aims to enhance the immediate sporting environment and retain players of both genders from the ground up. From this, the Connacht Rugby Age Grade Committee approached the University of Limerick through the “UL Beo” initiative (Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences) to examine ways that the branch could support the underage player pathway to better facilitate the playing experience, reduce drop out and ultimately see more players playing at all ages and continuing to adulthood as participants in rugby at all levels. These goals would be in line with the IRFU and Sport Ireland commitments to the Lifelong Involvement in Sport and Physical Activity Models and to help build the base of the performance pyramid.
This project is supported by the Lifes2Good Foundation. One of its aims is to support community initiatives in the West of Ireland and the foundation recognises the critical importance that local community sport plays in the wellbeing of people and the physical and social health of communities.
What has been done to date?
The project involves two work-packages, the first aimed at volunteer recruitment and support, the second work-package centred on player retention in the 16 to 20-year old age bracket.
Enhancing the volunteer experience: The initial drive, spearheaded by Dr. Gary Ryan, sought to investigate perspectives of current, former and potential volunteers to provide actionable points to Connacht Rugby in the short term. The final report documented the findings of two separate consultations: one with a group representing those currently active within Connacht Clubs and another called the “Seldom Heard Voices” which heard the voices of those thought to be on the fringes of the sport in the region. The report contains thirty recommendations for Connacht Rugby and for clubs in Connacht to implement. The recommendations are in areas such as Marketing, Club organisation, and Human Relations Management, and are currently under review.
Enhancing player retention: The second part of the initiative, steered by Dr. Phil Kearney and Patrick McEvoy, aims to enhance the immediate sporting environment to retain players of both genders, to encourage more young people to participate in rugby, especially from non-traditional cohorts and areas and to provide a sustainable framework to increase participation in Connacht Rugby in the medium to long term.
The first phase of this work-package was an exploration of the Connacht Player Database. In all over 33,000 entries were processed, focusing on whether factors such as number of appearances, playing for both club and school or at multiple age grades in a single season, and a player’s relative age influenced retention (fig. 1) 
The database executive report contains four principal findings and nine key recommendations to help increase player retention. These findings are currently being actioned by Connacht Rugby.
The second phase was a review of the current scientific literature relevant to player retention in sport. This literature report highlighted six key findings which will inform phase 3 of the project, but also provides recommendations to address current practices and enhance the player experience. The overarching themes of the review are illustrated in figure 2 below.
Figure 2: Key factors surrounding an individual’s intention to continue in their sport or to dropout
The third phase of the project is currently underway. Focus groups are being conducted with a range of stakeholders regarding the reasons why players aged 16-20 years are retained or drop out of rugby, to inform decision making on policies and enhance our rugby landscape as we look to the future.
Initial focus groups have already been conducted with parents of current players, current male players aged 16-18, current female players aged 16-18, and coaches of current players. It is important this research account for all perspectives on player retention. If you are involved in the rugby community in Connacht and you wish to add your voice to help shape our research, please click the link here to fill out the interest form (it will take about 90 seconds) and leave your preferred email address. Remember, your voice and your perspective is as important as anybody’s and will add to a meaningful step in keeping young players involved in club rugby.
If you wish to find out more information about what focus group participation means and what is involved, please click on the VOLUNTEER INFORMATION SHEET. There is also a brief description of what to expect and how each focus group is Focus Group outline attachment.
If preferred I can be contacted at [email protected]. I’m here to help and would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Benetton Rugby: 17
Connacht: 19
By John O’Sullivan
A last gasp Bundee Aki try saw Connacht defeat Benetton Treviso and set a club record for consecutive league away wins with five.
Despite tries from props Finlay Bealham and Paddy McAllister, the away team trailed 17-14 with only a minute remaining against the resolute Italians. Reneging on the opportunity to kick a penalty at goal and claim a draw, Connacht were rewarded for their bravery when Aki touched down at the tail of a powerful rolling maul to seal the win.
Conor Fitzgerald added four points to the tally, converting Bealham and McAllister’s tries, as the away team eked out a deserved win.
Connacht began the game with an attacking mindset and they looked to play with pace and precision at every given opportunity.
With a penalty advantage, Kieran Marmion’s clever grubber kick behind found Tom Daly and the centre powered into space and was stopped just short of the line by the hosts’ scramble defence.
Connacht elected to take a scrum when the advantage didn’t yield an immediate score and the play was brought back. Paul Boyle picked from the back of the set-piece and was denied close to the line, but the visitors reloaded and applied more phases of pressure and Bealham eventually made it count when he surged over the line from close range.
Fitzgerald made no mistake in adding the extras and the Westerners found themselves in a deserved 7-0 lead nearing the 20-minute mark.
The visitors, with Marmion central to their attacking forays, poured forward in search of more tries but it was Benetton — who had a man advantage after Shane Delahunt’s yellow card — who struck next. After a series in the Westerners 22, Davide Ruggeri — the blindside flanker — bundled his way over the line for the Italians’ opening score, which was converted by Edoardo Padovani.
With the wind in their sails, Benetton made it two tries when Leonardo Sarto’s searing run saw the Italian international winger speed up the flank and touch down for a score of individual brilliance which Padovani converted to put the hosts in the lead for the first time; 14-7.
The hosts held the lead for the final minutes of the half and the half time score read: Benetton Rugby 14-7 Connacht.
The Westerners, still down a man, started the second half with attacking intent and they registered their second try barely seconds after the beginning of the half. After a number of strong carries close to the line after a break Boyle established Connacht field position, McAllister powered his way over for a try which Fitzgerald converted the level the sides at 14-14.
With the Benetton defence strong, Connacht were unable to regularly establish territory in the hosts half and the home team grew stronger in attack as the half progressed. After applying pressure to the Westerners’ defence with five minutes remaining, the hosts were awarded a penalty. Stepping up, Padovani made no mistake in firing the Italians into a 17-14 lead with scarcely five minutes remaining at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo.
Aki then won Connacht a penalty immediately after the game restarted the away team elected to kick to the corner for the line out. The line out was stolen, but the away team’s excellent breakdown work saw them awarded another penalty not long after. This time, the set-piece worked a treat and Aki put the finishing touches on a powerful rolling maul for the game-winning score.
Connacht team:
(15-9)
15: Tiernan O’Halloran
14: Peter Sullivan
13: Tom Daly
12: Bundee Aki
11: Alex Wootton
10: Conor Fitzgerald
9: Kieran Marmion
(8-1)
8: Paul Boyle
7: Jarrad Butler ©
6: Eoghan Masterson
5: Gavin Thornbury
4: Oisin Dowling
3: Finlay Bealham
2: Shane Delahunt
1: Paddy McAllister
Replacements: Denis Buckley for McAllister, Jonny Murphy for Delahunt, Caolin Blade for Marmion, John Porch for Sullivan, Niall Murray for Thornbury, Sean Masterson for Masterson.
By John O’Sullivan
Connacht Rugby Club & Community are inviting male and female youth players to join Paul Boyle and Sean Masterson, two Connacht back-row forwards, for a totalhealth Virtual ProZone session next week.
It takes place on Monday 1st March from 07:00 pm to 07:30 pm via Zoom, with MC and Irish international Gavin Duffy asking the questions.
Paul and Sean will give an insight into playing in the back row and how to hone the skillsets associated with the position. They will be looking at ball carrying, the breakdown (ruck), lineout and scrum and identifying opportunities on both attack and defence in these areas.
This webinar is FREE and registration is now open in the link below, and we would encourage you to sign-up sooner rather than later.
