Tag Archives: connacht

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has opted for an exciting blend of youth and experience for the visit of the Cheetahs to the RDS Arena on Saturday in the PRO14.  A number of players released from the Ireland camp for this weekend are chosen by Cullen in his starting XV, while four Academy players also make the match-day 23. Rob …

Munster have named their starting XV ahead of their crucial Heineken Cup Champions Cup against Racing 92 in Paris on Sunday afternoon. Johann van Graan’s side have been handed a timely boost with the return of out-half JJ Hanrahan to the starting XV which contains eight changes from the team that faced Ulster last weekend. Niall Scannell starts at hooker …

Munster and Connacht have named their starting XVs ahead of Saturday evening’s inter-provincial Pro14 clash between the two sides at the Sportsground in Galway. Johann Van Graan names a much changed side from the one that fell to Saracens in the Heineken Champions Cup last weekend with ten new faces coming into the XV. Craig Casey makes his first PRO14 …

Connacht 27 Gloucester 24 A last-second try from Robin Copeland sealed a dramatic Heineken Champions Cup win for Connacht over Gloucester. With six minutes remaining in the game, Connacht were trailing by 11 points but tries from substitutes Shane Delahunt and Copeland ensured the last-gasp win as they move to eight points in the Pool table. The home side enjoyed …

Connacht travelled to the Kingsholm Stadium to face Gloucester high on confidence after their opening round win over Montpellier followed by an encouraging defeat away to Toulouse in the Champions Cup. Contrast that to the Premiership outfit who hadn’t won in five games and narrowly lost their opening two games of the Champions Cup campaign. However, it was the home …

Ireland international Bundee Aki has signed a contract extension with Connacht that will see him remain at the province until 2023. Aki’s current deal runs out in the summer and there was speculation that the star centre was considering a move abroad with a number of French teams thought to be sniffing around. However, the IRFU and Connacht have confirmed …

Connacht head coach Andy Friend has hailed the impact of young fly-half Conor Fitzgerald since joining the province from Munster in 2018. The 22-year-old is originally a product of the Munster Academy but joined the Connacht equivalent late last year before making his senior debut in the Challenge Cup last October. Fitzgerald has been highly impressive so far this season …

Toulouse 32 Connacht 17 Connacht walked away from their Champions Cup clash with Toulouse empty-handed following a 15-point loss in France. Andy Friend’s side led on two occasions during the encounter and while they stayed in touch with the Top 14 champions for the majority of the game, tries from Jerome Kaino and Pita Ahki denied Connacht the losing bonus-point …

Alby Mathewson will make his final appearance for Munster from the bench in their second-round Champions Cup clash with Racing 92 in Thomond Park on Saturday. JJ Hanrahan returns to the side in place of Tyler Bleyendaal who reported stiffness this week and was unavailable for selection. He is one of three changes to the Munster side who recorded a …

What a way to get over the calamity that was the Rugby World Cup in Japan by getting stuck back into one of the best tournament’s European sport has to offer.  The Heineken Champions Cup provided Irish rugby fans with the perfect cure for our World Cup hangovers as each province lit up the opening weekend en route to four …

Connacht welcomed Montpellier to the Sportsground this afternoon for their first Heineken Champions Cup game since 2017 and it proved to be a successful day for the western province. However, it didn’t go all their own way as prior to kick-off, Jarrad Butler, Matt Healy and Niyi Adeolokun were all ruled out through injury. In a bizarre turn of events, …

Connacht suffered the worst possible start to their first Champions Cup outing since the 2016/17 season as Aaron Cruden scored Montpellier’s first try after just 70 seconds. Prior to kick-off, Jarrad Butler, Matt Healy and Niyi Adeolokun were all ruled out through injury and while being interviewed on the pitch, club captain Butler predicted an 18-0 win for his side …

Connacht have been forced to make three late changes to their starting XV ahead of their Champions Cup opener against Montpellier with Jarrad Butler, Matt Healy and Niyi Adeolokun all sustaining injuries. Robin Copeland, Tom Daly and John Porch have all been introduced into Andy Friend’s starting lineup with a number of other positional changes as a result. While the …

Connacht have announced that key trio Tiernan O’Halloran, Sean O’Brien and Tom Farrell have all signed contract extensions that will see them remain with the province until the end of the 2021/22 season. O’Halloran has been capped 175 times for Connacht since making his debut in 2010, amassing almost 200 points during that time. The full-back is a product of …

Leinster’s bid for three Guinness PRO14 titles in a row continues this week as they travel to Italy to face Zebre. The eastern province will be looking to make it four wins on the bounce and Leo Cullen has made a number of changes following their last outing, a 40-14 win over Edinburgh two week’s ago. Cian Kelleher comes in …

While Japan may continue to hold the focus of rugby fans, there is plenty of action at home as all four provinces feature in the PRO14 this weekend. On Friday evening, Leinster welcome Ospreys to the RDS for their first home game of the season. Meanwhile, both Munster and Ulster are in action in South Africa as they take on …

Munster Rugby are sweating on the fitness of a number of key players ahead of their PRO14 season opener against Dragons in Thomond Park on Saturday afternoon.  With 12 members of their squad currently at the Rugby World Cup with Ireland, head coach Johann van Graan will have to shuffle his pack ahead of the new season with a number …

It has been a whirlwind number of months for Jack Carty. A highly impressive season with Connacht saw him earn a spot in Ireland’s squad for the Six Nations and he made his Test debut against Italy earlier this year. On the back of his displays for province and country, the 27-year-old was named in Joe Schmidt’s squad for the …