Connacht STAND and nearly deliver

The day itself was destined to be a victory regardless of anything that happened on the pitch.

23 years to the month since a decision by supporters of rugby in Connacht to march on Lansdowne Road in protest at an IRFU proposal to exterminate the Connacht professional team, the largest attendance ever to watch a game of the oval ball in Galway packed the Sportsground on Saturday evening.

Vindication was the bigger V than victory on this occasion.

Of course, it’s no longer called the Sportsground – that’s corporate sport for you – but what something is called and what something is known by are two different things altogether: Aviva Stadium remains Lansdowne Road to many; 3Arena for some will forever be The Point; Ireland West has always struggled to replace Knock as the moniker for the airport formerly known as Horan International; MacHale Park is MacHale Park regardless of the insurer or retailer pumping money into Mayo GAA coffers. Some names stick, some names don’t. But all names matter. Just ask the people of Greenland; it’s not Iceland, no matter what Donald might say.

But for the purpose of not being exterminated by the IRFU myself – in particular from future official entry to the press lounge – from this point forth let all reference to Connacht’s home ground on College Road become Dexcom Stadium. Because money talks – and the €40million spent on redeveloping the Spo… Dexcom Stadium, its new grandstand, all-weather playing surface, LED floodlighting system and the adjacent state-of-the-art high performance centre, hasn’t been easily found by Connacht’s top brass and will take some repaying. So the support of an American pharmaceutical that aims to employ up to 1000 at its Athenry facility when it fully opens this year is significant. So too the €20 million in funding that Connacht was allocated through the government’s Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). But neither are perhaps as significant as 12,500 capacity crowds, the more of which can be attracted to Dexcom Stadium after Saturday’s grand opening of the Clan Stand the better.

Keep them entertained like on Saturday and that could easily become the reality. Connacht mightn’t have returned the result against behemoth Leinster that the occasion craved – the scoreboard read 23-34 at full-time – but it wasn’t through any shortage of application or effort.

The stadium project has been some 15 years in the making and in his President’s Welcome in the match programme, the first-named by Robert Lahiff for their roles in seeing the dream become a reality were a pair of Mayo men.

Claremorris native Karl O’Boyle, once a very talented Mayo underage Gaelic footballer, is Connacht Rugby’s Director of Development, working under CEO – and Knockmore native – Willie Ruane, whose overseeing of Connacht’s ‘Grassroots to Green Shirts’ strategic plan in May 2016 was described as a “declaration of intent” by the province.

If the one-time ‘problem child’ of the IRFU was to truly thumb its nose at the hierarchy and grow as a competitive entity, it required, the plan explicitly stated, a 10,000-capacity stadium and a dedicated high-performance centre. The vision and graft of Ruane, himself a former Connacht player, O’Boyle and many others has resulted in something probably even beyond that – a stunning, ultra-modern facility that adds a whole new level of attractiveness to the province.

With increased financial capabilities and facilities that now offer something infinitely more appealing both to supporters, in terms of their match-day experience, and players who before may have been enticed beyond and elsewhere of Connacht for employment, the long-term picture for the provincial team is as pretty as the spectacular cityscape view of Galway, its bay and the Burren in the far distance, all of which can be seen from the lofty heights of the new Clan grandstand which can seat, feed and fuel 6,500 spectators.

But ultimately it’s what happens on the pitch that will put bums on seats.

Trying to end a run of twelve straight defeats to Leinster in all competitions when you’ve also just lost your last three United Rugby Championship games, including to Leinster last month, was never going to be straightforward. But for almost an hour last Saturday Connacht had delivered the performance they will undoubtedly have demanded of themselves. In fact, it was a Ballina man who gave the greatest oxygen to the prospect a landmark home win when Harry West crossed over Leinster’s whitewash in the 48th minute.

In only his sixth appearance, the 22-year-old’s try, after a fine passing move up the left wing, was his second in two games and allied with Sam Gilbert’s conversion, left the home side 20-13 in front. The former St Muredach’s College student is quickly becoming the talk of the Dexcom but alas, everything unravelled on Stuart Lancaster’s side when RG Snyman and Charlie Tector scored quickfire tries to move Leinster seven points in front with 20 minutes to go.

“It was a privilege to be part of the occasion and I thought the boys in the week leading into it, everyone involved in Connacht Rugby put so much effort into it, so it’s gut-wrenching to not come away with the win,” admitted head coach Stuart Lancaster afterwards.

“I think we played really well in the first-half and were in good shape at half-time, albeit it was 13-all. The game changed in what felt like two minutes. It was two tries in a very short space of time and ultimately that cost us.” 

Connacht had recovered from the concession of a fifth minute Fintan Gunne try to lead 10-7 after 22 minutes through the boot of Sam Gilbert and a try by Dylan Tierney-Martin. A bone-crunching tackle by Sam Illo on Gus McCarthy would have been felt in Blacksod let alone Bohermore and McCarthy was the fall guy again when Sean Jansen ripped the ball from the Leinster hooker to get the occupants of the Clan Stand on their feet four minutes before the break.

“With the stand opening, the home games we have to come, we have to translate that emotion and energy into accuracy and do it consistently for eighty minutes; that’s the step we have to take,” explained Lancaster.

“We’ve given ourselves a big challenge now to get in the top eight. We’ve played nine games and got nine to go. But as I said to the boys, it’s not the end, it’s the beginning.” 

There was no 229th cap for Dave Heffernan or any game-time for Fiachna Barrett to join with Harry West in bolstering Mayo’s influence on the Connacht team but adding to what was a very special evening nonetheless for Ballina RFC was that allied with West’s try, another of their ex-youths players, captain of Ireland Caolan Doris, was making his 100th appearance for Leinster.

And next year marks the 100th anniversary of the Sportsground. Or is that the Dexcom?

A new world perhaps for Connacht but old habits will always die hard.