Very interesting information.scentofgunpowder wrote: ↑October 29th, 2024, 5:08 pm Great news.
There is in my opinion a very strong cohort of Connacht-produced players born in the late 90s and early 00s, especially when you consider that years 1993-1998 yielded only Caolin Blade (unfortunately some very talented players from that era were lost to injury, such as Sean O'Brien (1994) and Cillian Gallagher (1997)).
1999: Niall Murray, Colm Reilly, Dylan Tierney-Martin
2000:
2001: Eoin de Buitléar, Cathal Forde, Shane Jennings, Oisin McCormack, Darragh Murray
2002: Matthew Devine
2003: Fiachna Barrett, John Devine, Harry West
2004: Max Flynn, Hugh Gavin
Obviously, not all of those players will make the grade, but nevertheless should form a strong home grown spine of the squad. If they can be supplemented with the likes of Cian Prendergast (2000), Shamus Hurley-Langton (2000), Shayne Bolton (2000), Ben Murphy (2021), Sam Illo (2001), Chay Mullins (2002), Finn Treacy (2004), Sean Naughton (2004), etc., Connacht may possess a squad capable of reaching European quarter finals in the late 2020s.
It's also worth noting that the 2006 group was the first to win an interpro series since the 2001 group which yielded 5 senior pros. The former team featured interesting prospects such as Rory Gavin, Diarmuid O'Connell, and Sean Walsh.
The resurgence of Corinthians could also be a boon for the province as there is more high level rugby available, with two teams in the JP Fanagan u20 competition (including I believe the first Connacht team in the top tier), and a potential return to AIL Division 1 on the cards.
Another big piece of the puzzle is currently underway with the improved stadium and (I believe) training facilities.
The cost of construction is very high in Ireland at the moment, so maybe 'low-hanging fruit' is a bit of a stretch, but I think it is important to have good facilities and infrastructure with regards to attracting players. It's a definable, tangible piece of the organisation. You build it, then you have it for a long time.
You can show young players that this is a well-run, well-resourced organisation. There's the same all-weather pitches, the same track, the same scrum-machines, the same amount of racks and platforms etc. as Leinster/Munster have ... you don't have to go there to get picked for Ireland. Munster, Leinster and Ulster all have excellent training facilities and I think Connacht have been having to mend and make do in comparison.
Getting more people through the turnstiles also has obvious benefits in terms of improving the finances.
