Brendan Gallagher column: Connacht, the ‘poor relations’ of Irish rugby
Connacht were enjoying a decent season even before their trip to deepest Russia but since then they have shown a resolve and determination in everything they have done. And not a little panache as well. There was a time when Connacht were literally a wild west team relying on the unholy trinity of bollack, boot and bite to achieve their occasional upset wins but now, under Pat Lam, they play a very fluid and pleasing style of rugby indeed.
And popular as well. In their last three home games at the Sportsground – capacity a modest 9,000 even with temporary stands – Connacht have been forced to turn spectators away. That will undoubtedly be the case again on Saturday night when they face reigning champions Glasgow in the Pro 12 semi-final play-off.
There is more than a hint of the Leicester City about Connacht, in fact in sporting terms they are possibly bigger underdogs. Since being formed in 1885 Connacht have won virtually nothing whereas Leicester have enjoyed periods of success prior to this season. It’s all relative but both are under financed compared with their biggest rivals, both have had to fight for their survival and both field a team of largely unheralded honest professionals although one or two bright sparks are increasingly attracting the attention and dominating the headlines.
There might be “four proud provinces of Ireland” but historically Connacht have always been the poor relations of Irish rugby, under-provisioned and underestimated, in real life and rugby.
In Cromwell’s day the expression “To Hell or Connacht” sprung up from the edict in 1653 that those Irish not wishing to be rounded up and exported to the Colonies should banish themselves to wild Connacht wastelands west of the Shannon. Meanwhile nowhere in Ireland suffered more direly during the potato famine with nearly a third of its population being wiped out. The rugby anthem Field of Athenry – a town in Connacht – pretty much sums up their perennial underdog status.
So Connacht has always been considered way out west and not all mainstream and those sentiments certainly defined the Province’s rugby team before it morphed into a professional franchise. Not once were they able to win the inter-provincial title although they did claim a share of honours in 1956, 1957 and again in 1965 – the high-water marks of Connacht rugby before take-off was finally achieved in recent years.
As a provincial representative team they always fought against massive odds in prime GAA country with just 20 clubs within their borders. Less than seven per cent of the senior players in Ireland come from Connacht. Historically that massive disadvantage was accentuated by many of the best players moving to other Irish provinces or across the sea to London Irish, or indeed other clubs. Until very recently Connacht were considered a development club, a feeder team by the IRFU and Leinster, Ulster and Munster.
Matters came to a head in 2003 when the IRFU, with €4m debts and looking to economise ahead of the building of the planned Aviva Stand, moved to withdraw all financial support from the team which would have sounded the death knell. Rather to the surprise of the IRFU more than 2,000 Connacht fans, with former Connacht star Eric Elwood well to the fore, besieged their offices in Lansdowne Road up in Dublin by way of protest, an impressive figure given that Connacht’s average home crowd at the time was only 600.
A chastened IRFU sniffed the wind and eventually agreed to continue with their €2m annual funding of Connacht, although that figure was still some €1.4m less than the annual amount given to each of the other three provincial franchises.
All teams are equal but some are more equal than others it would seem but perhaps, in the final analysis, the IRFU’s tough approach was justified, throwing down the gauntlet to Connacht rugby. Their message was clear: Go on then, prove your worth. We’ve met you half way, show us how badly you want it.
The first coach to take up the challenge was Michael Bradley and he certainly warrants a big mention in despatches when trying to assess the “sudden” rise of Connacht to elite status. Bradley started putting building blocks in place and, frankly, in the Celtic League it was a remorseless struggle, with six consecutive tenth places with no League campaign garnering moe than seven wins out of 22. It was exceptionally hard going.
What Bradley did, however, was use the European Challenge Cup to grow Connacht rugby. The pressure was off a little, players could express themselves more, youngsters could be blooded, the exposure to top French and English teams was extremely useful and the many road trips involved helped bond the club. Home fixtures against new but high profile opponents also offered showpiece occasions to start building the fan base at the Galway Sportsground.
Three times under Bradley Connacht fought their way to the semi-finals. In 2003-4 France proved their main proving ground, getting the better of Beziers and Pau in two-legged rounds one and two respectively before doing likewise against Narbonne in the quarter-finals. Harlequins proved a bridge too far in the semi-finals but only just with Quins winning by four points on aggregate over the two games. The following season offered up another excellent, lesson-learning campaign with triumphs over Narbonne and Montpellier and a quarter-final victory over Grenoble before they finally ran out of steam against an inform Sale who trounced them 59-9 at Stockport in the second leg of their semi-final.
The 2009-10 season, Bradley’s last in charge, resulted in a third semi-final and close encounters with the big beasts of the Top 14. Connacht won all six pool matches that year – including the double over Montpellier, before beating Bourgoin in their quarter-final.
Connacht then welcomed Jonny Wilkinson and Toulon to the Sportsground. Toulon prevailed 19-12 but Connacht had enjoyed their brush with “bigtime” rugby. They had earned the right to be considered rather more than a development project or feeder club, although Munster and Leinster, in particular, still pounced if they spotted somebody they particularly like the look of.
Elwood took over in 2010 and on his watch Connacht kept chipping away in the Celtic League/Pro 12. The results weren’t spectacular – eighth or ninth place seemed their default setting – but for close observers there was a noticeable change. They weren’t hanging on any more. Connacht were becoming increasingly competitive in the big games and more resilient. After trekking around France and England in the Challenge Cup games in Wales, Scotland and Italy held no fear anymore.
Elwood stepped back in 2013 – he is now in charge of grass roots rugby development in Connacht – when Pat Lam took over and initially there was no marked improvement in the Pro 12 with a disappointing tenth place. But there was a famous 16-14 European win over Toulouse at the Ernest Wallon stadium which proved something of a game changer and reignited the club.
The following season they charged hard to finish seventh in the league and now they have smashed through the final barrier with a magnificent second place overall behind Leinster in the regular season.
Good players – many home produced – astute management, excellent coaching, a supportive home crowd, unlimited ambition. Connacht have been riding the perfect wave and nobody wants it to end.
