Connacht Rugby

Boshoff heads for home as Connacht dealt a blow 

Connacht have been dealt a major blow ahead of the start of the new season after last year's marquee signing Marnitz Boshoff was released from his contract on compassionate grounds.

Connacht release Springbok out-half from his contract a year early on compassionate grounds 

Connacht have confirmed that South African out-half Marnitz Boshoff has returned home to South Africa after the province released him from his...

Connacht keen on Aussie out-half 

Connacht are poised to sign former Australian U-20 out-half Andrew Deegan as incoming coach Kieran Keane strengthens his squad for the new season.

Connacht sign Jarrad Butler from the Brumbies on a three-year deal 

New Zealand-born back rower Jarrad Butler will join Connacht at the end of the Super Rugby season on a three-year deal, the province announced today.

Johnny 'Concrete' O'Connor has rejoined Connacht as their strength and conditioning coach 

One of the most popular players in the history of Connacht rugby will be returning to the province after it was announced that Johnny O'Connor...

Bradley poised to take Zebre reins 

Former Connacht coach Michael Bradley is expected to be named soon as coach of Italian side Zebre.

Connacht receive favourable Challenge Cup draw 

Connacht have received a favourable draw for next season's Challenge Cup with the 2016 PRO12 champions drawing eighth placed Top 14 side Brive, 11th placed Aviva Premiership side Worcester...

Connacht sign up former NBA coach as part of new backroom team 

Connacht have signed up former Oklahoma City Thunder Athletic Performance Coordinator David Howarth as part of their new backroom team.

Connacht sign Irish qualified ex-England U20's scrum-half James Mitchell 

Connacht have completed the signing of Sale and former England U20's scrum-half James Mitchell.

Blues skills coach Dave Ellis retains his indelible link to Connacht glory 

Connacht left its mark on Dave Ellis, both figuratively and literally.

Brendan Fanning: Pat Lam's self-serving, semi-coherent and arrogant ramble has damaged his Connacht farewell 

In late August, Connacht will play Bristol in the Sportsground as part of their pre-season warm-up.

Keane to jet in early to tackle Connacht's pre-season 

New Connacht coach Kieran Keane is set to arrive in the Sportsground much earlier than anticipated in a bid to prevent a repeat of the disjointed pre-season campaign which undermined their...

New Connacht coach dealt blow ahead of first season with Springbok star set to return home a year early 

New Connacht coach Kieran Keane could be about to lose one of his capped players at the Sportsground with former Springbok Marnitz...

Roux rewarded with Ireland call as Ringrose's knee is assessed 

Connacht lock Quinn Roux has been added to Joe Schmidt's travelling party for Ireland's three-match summer tour to the USA and Japan.

Quinn Roux selected over Ultan Dillane for Ireland tour of USA & Japan 

Connacht lock Quinn Roux has been selected over teammate Ultan Dillane for the Ireland squad that will travel to the US and Japan for the June...

Bundee Aki set to undergo off-season shoulder surgery 

Connacht centre Bundee Aki is set to undergo off-season surgery on an ongoing shoulder issue.

Lam predicts bright future if Connacht attitude is right 

Pat Lam is confident that Connacht will be back in the Champions Cup before long and that more success will come to the Sportsground, as long as players maintain the right attitude.

Lam era ends in disappointment for Connacht 

The Kieran Keane era in charge of Connacht will kick-off next season in the Challenge Cup after a brave effort came up short at Franklin's Gardens.

Connacht to miss out on Champions Cup as Pat Lam's final game ends in heartbreak 

Northampton kept alive their hopes of playing in the European Champions Cup next season with a hard-fought 21-15 victory over Connacht in the...

Connacht determined to end hoodoo and extend Lam's reign 

Connacht, with Warren Gatland in charge, produced a stunning 20-15 win over Northampton Saints in 1997 but since then have only managed to win once on English soil, writes John Fallon.

Adeolokun, Dillane and Healy all return for Connacht's Champions Cup play-off 

Connacht will welcome back Niyi Adeolokun, Ultan Dillane and Matt Healy for Saturday's Champions Cup play-off decider with Northampton after the...

This game will be easy to get up for 

These are the games that professional rugby players play rugby for. It's the big ones that you dream about being involved in and there's so much resting on this Champions Cup play-off against Northampton Saints at Franklin's Gardens, writes Johnny O'Connor.

Lam's boys capable of Saints upset 

The carrot of all carrots awaits Connacht if they can pull of a shock victory at Franklin's Gardens this weekend. But the performance levels will be upped and I'm confident they can go to Northampton and win.

Province hosts excellence camps 

Connacht Rugby will be holding excellence camps in five locations across the province this summer with young players aged between 13 and 16 getting the opportunity to learn and improve from high-class coaching in a professional environment.

Heenan: Call-ups a big lift for squad 

Connacht flanker Jake Heenan says Dave Heffernan's inclusion in Ireland's touring squad to Japan and USA can inspire other players within the province to do likewise down the line.

Connacht aiming to make it five wins 

Connacht will be hoping to claim just a third away win against English sides in the professional era when they take on Northampton Saints tomorrow in the play-off semi-final to reach next season's Champions Cup.

'I believe there's huge potential here. It's an exciting time' 

After 13 years in the role, Nigel Carolan will finish up as Connacht Rugby Academy Manager in the coming weeks.

Player Diary: Heroes who did double over Saints can be our inspiration 20 years on 

It's a huge weekend for the province as travel to Franklin's Gardens looking to make another big step forward for Connacht Rugby. It's been a tough...

Club Focus: Celebrated nursery still fighting an uphill battle 

Despite fighting against the odds, to the extent where they don't even have a pitch to play on, Calasanctius College in Oranmore has continued to churn out fantastic rugby talent over the years.

Masterson earns call for U-20 World Cup 

Corinthians' Sean Masterson has been named in the Ireland U-20 squad for the World Rugby U-20 Championships in Georgia this summer.

Creggs rebuild starting to take shape 

Creggs RFC have made startling progress in the recent weeks of fine weather as the club have undertaken a major development project at their ground in The Green.

Pat Lam: Attitude is key for this priceless play-off 

Once we missed out on the top six, we said that this game was the big one. We are all massively determined to reach our goal of Champions Cup. Win this weekend and we give ourselves a huge...

Four senior players commit to Connacht for next season 

JP Cooney, Shane Delahunt, Steve Crosbie and Tom Farrell have signed contract extension at Connacht for next season.

Ultan Dillane returns to training ahead of Champions Cup play-off decider with Northampton 

Ireland second-row Ultan Dillane will return to Connacht training this week ahead of the province's Champions Cup play-off decider with the...

Blitz spreads the word in province's schools 

Seventy players from a number of Galway schools participated in a blitz organised by club and community rugby officers Conor Galvin and Matt Henderson.

Anything can happen in knock-out rugby 

Connacht will be devastated to have been opened up like that against Munster last weekend. But it's important that the fans get behind them, as they have a huge game coming up against either...

Club Focus: A real love of the game has grown out west 

GAA, and specifically Gaelic football, has always dominated towns on the border between Galway and Mayo. But along with the rise of rugby in the west of Ireland came the success of the...

Player Diary: Humbling defeat to Munster will drive us on for the play-offs 

It's never nice losing a match, but losing to an inter-provincial rival is another thing, and shipping 50 points in the process is very poor. We have a...

The Big Interview: Skipper has his eye on a big finale to a tough title defence 

This time last year, John Muldoon thought the current season could be his last as a professional rugby player. After lifting the Guinness Pro12...

Whoever we get, we have to work on our defence 

While last weekend was the final round of Guinness Pro12 and a lot of clubs are finished now for 2016-17, we are still in action and with a lot to play for.

Lam eager to find out who's up next 

Connacht coach Pat Lam will be an interested viewer of tonight's Challenge Cup final between Gloucester and Stade Francais, armed with the knowledge that a win for the English Premiership outfit will see Connacht making the trip to Kingsholm next weekend.

Now is the time for fans to keep faith 

It's been a tough 2017 so far for everyone at Connacht; the players and management have suffered with the way the results went, and the fans too, writes Johnny O'Connor.

Sligo and Corinthians shine 

Sligo RFC claimed the U-17 Connacht Plate with a resounding 43-17 victory over Corinthians in Castlebar in the final.

Sign up for Athlone 7s in the City 

This year's Athlone 7s in the City competition takes place at Dubarry Park on Saturday, May 20.

Aki loses last-ditch appeal 

Connacht have failed in their improbable 11th hour attempt to spring Bundee Aki from the last leg of a three-match suspension for misconduct after their appeal was dismissed at a Glasgow hearing last night.

Bundee Aki will miss Champions Cup play-off after his misconduct appeal is rejected 

Connacht centre Bundee Aki will miss the province's Champions Cup play-off against either the Northampton Saints or Gloucester next weekend...

Connacht appeal may free Aki for play-off test 

Bundee Aki could yet play for Connacht in their Champions Cup play-off as the province appeal his suspension.

Peter Wilkins joins Kieran Keane's Connacht backroom team for next season 

Peter Wilkins will join Connacht as their new defence coach this summer.

Realistic Erasmus not getting carried away 

Neither Rassie Erasmus nor Pat Lam learned a great deal about their side in Munster's thumping victory over Connacht but it was the South African who left Thomond Park quietly content with matters.

Reds' relief as Murray injury return goes to plan 

Rassie Erasmus admitted that he was relieved to welcome Conor Murray back during his side's thumping bonus-point win over Connacht that saw Munster overtake Leinster at the top of the...

O'Halloran earns players' top award 

After another stellar campaign where he topped the charts across the Guinness Pro12 and Champions Cup, Connacht and Ireland full-back Tiernan O'Halloran was voted the Connacht Rugby Players' Player of the Year at the annual awards ball at the Radisson Blue Hotel in Galway last Sunday night.