A Connacht Rugby E-Newsletter January 2019 Stronger in Green

STRONGER IN GREEN A CONNACHT RUGBY E-NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2019 STRONGER IN GREEN 13. DATES FOR THE DIARY Some of the important games coming up at The Sportsground 03. CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS 06. PRO TEAM RESULTS until the end of March. A message from Liam Rattigan, The season so far. Chairman of the Board of Connacht Rugby. 07. SPORTSGROUND REDEVELOPMENT All the latest on the redevelopment of The Sportsground. 11. PLAYER AMBASSADOR 04. PROGRAMME 26 clubs learned who their pro PRO TEAM player ambassadors are at last UPDATE week's launch. Head Coach Andy Friend 12. MATCH DISCOUNTS reflects on his first six New discounts are now months in the role and looks available to Connacht Clubs & ahead to a crucial period in Schools. the season. 09. 2 CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS It gives me great pleasure to plans from people throughout the launch the inaugural Connacht Rugby province and indeed from public rep- E-Newsletter. This quarterly publica- resentatives throughout the country. tion is an opportunity to update peo- There is still a journey ahead to realise ple in the wider Connacht Rugby family, our ambition and the Board of Connacht on key developments in areas like gov- Rugby, along with the CEO and his senior ernance, grassroots rugby, operations management team will continue to work and the professional team. It will be an tirelessly to deliver this project for the opportunity to highlight some of the key entire region. events and activities that have taken place in Connacht Rugby over the past Throughout the past few months it’s few months and take a little look for- hard not to be impressed by the cul- ward at what is to come in the months ture, values and passion that charac- ahead. terises the game in Connacht, espe- cially the hard work and dedication of As Chairman of the Board of Connacht the staff of Connacht Rugby and vol- Rugby, I am privileged to oversee the unteers throughout every corner of the beat all other three provinces on their modernisation of governance in the province. The voluntary ethos of every- march to victory. I would like to con- organisation during a truly historic period one associated with rugby in Connacht is gratulate all the players and coaches in of great change. Two of the key priori- the lifeblood of the organisation. I would delivering these historic achievements. ties embodied in the Vision for Connacht personally like to take this opportunity to The other historic achievement has been Rugby Grassroots to Green Shirts, are thank all those who continually volunteer the emergence of Beibhinn Parsons from to deliver a fit for purpose governance their time, whether it be players, coaches, Ballinasloe RFC. In November, Beibhinn structure and to deliver facilities that club officials, referees, stewards, par- became the youngest player ever capped match our ambition. ents, teachers, committee members, for Ireland at the age of just 16. An incred- supporters and a whole range of oth- ible achievement for her, her family and Over the past eighteen months we ers who give of their time. Your efforts everyone involved with the promotion of have now implemented an entire new do not go unnoticed and you represent rugby in Ballinasloe. governance structure for the organi- everything that is good about Connacht sation which has brought the responsi- Rugby. Finally, I would like to wish you all a bility and management of the domestic successful 2019 both on and off the field. and professional game under the one On the field, we also had two out- umbrella. This is a historic first among standing successes in 2018 that point the four provinces in implementing this to a bright future for the province when change and it is ensuring a closer align- the Boys Under 18 and Girls Under 18 Liam Rattigan ment and coordination of the good work teams both won their respective inter- Chairman of the being done at all levels. Another historic provincial competitions. Both teams Board of Connacht Rugby occasion has been the election of election of Ann Heneghan as the first female Junior Vice President of Connacht Rugby in 2018. ABOUT THE BOARD In embarking on a necessary jour- • Connacht Rugby is governed by a board of suitably qualified individuals with re- ney to deliver facilities that match our sponsibilities in areas such as Club and Community Rugby, Finance, Operations, ambition, the key development over the past few months has been the announce- Professional Rugby and Commercial Activity. ment of the redevelopment plans for the • Individual board members chair a range of committees under their areas of re- Sportsground. The announcement has sponsibility. been the culmination of a huge amount • The new governance structures in Connacht Rugby mean that the board is re- of work going on behind the scenes over sponsible for both professional rugby and the grassroots game, a number of years. Since the announce- ensuring greater co-ordination and co-operation throughout all areas of rugby in ment was made in October, we have the province. received widespread support for the 3 In July I had the honour of being appointed Head Coach of Connacht "THE DIFFERENCE Rugby. I can honestly say it’s a journey I have being enjoying every minute of. Over the past seven months or so that I IS THE PEOPLE" have been here, people have constantly asked me, what is it that makes Connacht different? And my response is the same now as it was on day one – it’s the peo- AFTER SIX MONTHS IN THE ROLE OF ple! From the day that I met Willie Ruane HEAD COACH, ANDY FRIEND HAS and members of the Board of Connacht Rugby I was immediately struck by the BEEN LOOKING BACK ON HIS TIME ambition and passion that they had for SO FAR IN THE WEST OF IRELAND rugby and for the West of Ireland. When I met the players and staff, that ambition was just as strong. I said from the start that I don’t see my job being to radically change any- thing. There is such a good group of players and coaches here, so I see that my role is to provide guidance and support so that players and coaches can flourish, and we can deliver performances on the pitch that everyone can be proud of. The other major factor in our progress this season has been the role of our supporters for both home and away games. When we travelled to South Africa a group of about 80 made their way over for the two games and made themselves heard – thankfully we delivered back to back wins to send them home happy. As for the home support, what can I say. The atmosphere in the Sportsground has been absolutely incredible. Particularly over the Christmas inter- pro games people voted with their feet and the stadium was sold out for three weeks in a row. That support has a huge impact on what happens out on the pitch as it is obvious that the community is fully behind this team. Every team that comes to the Sportsground arrives here with a strong side expecting a difficult game, and the home support acts as a genuine 16th man for us. In terms of highlights so far there has been a few. Of course the victories stand out, but it’s the manner of some of those victories that I’m most proud of. At different stages in the season we have placed trust in our younger less experi- enced players, some of whom are still in the Academy, and they have delivered for 4 us every time. Going to Perpignan and coming away with a bonus point win was an example of the depth we now have in the squad and some of the younger players really shone for us that night. Off the field, the trips we have had out into the community were real stand out occasions. We have visited Ballina and Gort so far this season with more trips to come. We have also launched the Club Ambassador Programme where all the 26 clubs in the province have been assigned at least two players. Depending on the needs of the club, the players will help out throughout the season. This ensures that link with our players & grassroots rugby is alive and well throughout the province. Our aim is to continue to improve game after game after game and be involved at the business end of the season in both competitions. At the half way point in the season we are on course to do that, but the job is only half done. "There is such a good group of players and coaches around the group, my role is to provide guidance and support so that the players and coaches can flourish." 5 THE SEASON SO FAR ATET QUOSA EARIO NEQUASP ERIBUSDAE. SATURDAY 1st SEPTEMBER CONNACHT 26-27 GLASGOW @ THE SPORTSGROUND SATURDAY 8th SEPTEMBER CONNACHT 32-12 ZEBRE @ THE SPORTSGROUND FRIDAY 15th SEPTEMBER EDINBURGH 17-10 CONNACHT @ MURRAYFIELD SATURDAY 22nd SEPTEMBER CONNACHT 33-20 SCARLETS @ THE SPORTSGROUND SATURDAY 29tH SEPTEMBER CONNACHT 3-20 LEINSTER @ THE SPORTSGROUND FRIDAY 5th OCTOBER ULSTER 15-22 CONNACHT @ KINGSPAN STADIUM SATURDAY 13th OCTOBER CONNACHT 22-10 BORDEAUX @ THE SPORTSGROUND SATURDAY 20th OCTOBER SALE SHARKS 34-13 CONNACHT @ AJ BELL STADIUM FRIDAY 26th OCTOBER OSPREYS 22-17 CONNACHT @ BREWERY FIELD SATURDAY 3rd NOVEMBER CONNACHT 33-12 DRAGONS @ THE SPORTSGROUND SUNDAY 25th NOVEMBER SOUTHERN KINGS 14-31 CONNACHT @ MADIBAZ STADIUM SATURDAY 1st DECEMBER CHEETAHS 17-21 CONNACHT @ TOYOTA STADIUM SATURDAY 8th DECEMBER CONNACHT 22-10 PERPIGNAN @ THE SPORTSGROUND FRIDAY 14th DECEMBER PERPIGNAN 21-36 CONNACHT @ STADE AIME GIRAL SATURDAY 22nd DECEMBER LEINSTER 33-29 CONNACHT @ RDS ARENA FRIDAY 28th DECEMBER CONNACHT 21-12 ULSTER @ THE SPORTSGROUND SATURDAY 5th JANUARY CONNACHT 24-31 MUNSTER @ THE SPORTSGROUND SATURDAY 12th JANUARY CONNACHT 20-18 SALE SHARKS @ THE SPORTSGROUND 6 FACILITIES TO MATCH OUR AMBITION "A stadium that the people of the West of Ireland can be immensely proud of.” 7 In October Connacht Rugby Infrastructure Fund, and private funding.

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