Connacht Rugby are one of the four provincial rugby teams that represent Ireland in the PRO14 and European competitions. The team is responsible for representing the Connacht Branch of the IRFU and their crest is a modified version of the provincial flag of Connacht.
Although the province contains only 8% of the total population of Ireland, the team is incredibly competitive and widely popular. In the club’s history, they’ve won the Inter-Provincial Championship three times and the PRO14 once. They’ve also reached the semi-final stage of the European Rugby Challenge Cup on three occasions.
Newcastle Falcons have signed their second tighthead prop in the space of a week by recruiting Connacht's Conor Kenny on a two-year deal.
With their season over following last Friday's win over Ospreys, Connacht have confirmed that nine players are leaving Andy Friend's squad.
Connacht Rugby are one of the four provincial rugby teams that represent Ireland in the PRO14 and European competitions. The team is responsible for representing the Connacht Branch of the IRFU and their crest is a modified version of the provincial flag of Connacht.
Although the province contains only 8% of the total population of Ireland, the team is incredibly competitive and widely popular. In the club’s history, they’ve won the Inter-Provincial Championship three times and the PRO14 once. They’ve also reached the semi-final stage of the European Rugby Challenge Cup on three occasions.
Heineken Cup 
PRO 14 
Pro14 Rainbow Cup Heineken Cup 
Heineken Cup PRO 14 Pro14 Rainbow Cup | Round 0 | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | PD | BP T | BP -7 | BP | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
-  Glasgow Warriors | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Sale Sharks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Leinster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Scarlets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Bordeaux | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Edinburgh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Toulon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Montpellier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  La Rochelle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Wasps | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Northampton Saints | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Bath | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Toulouse | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Bristol | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Connacht | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Ulster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Clermont | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Lyon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Munster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Racing 92 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Exeter Chiefs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Harlequins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Gloucester | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Gwent Dragons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Round 0 |
|---|
| - Glasgow Warriors |
| - Sale Sharks |
| - Leinster |
| - Scarlets |
| - Bordeaux |
| - Edinburgh |
| - Toulon |
| - Montpellier |
| - La Rochelle |
| - Wasps |
| - Northampton Saints |
| - Bath |
| - Toulouse |
| - Bristol |
| - Connacht |
| - Ulster |
| - Clermont |
| - Lyon |
| - Munster |
| - Racing 92 |
| - Exeter Chiefs |
| - Harlequins |
| - Gloucester |
| - Gwent Dragons |
Historically, the Connacht Rugby team have been given a lower status than the three other Irish provinces of Leinster, Ulster and Munster. As a result, when the professional era of rugby began, the Connacht Rugby team only received half the budget of the other provinces and were labelled as a ‘development team’. For this reason, when the Heineken Cup was formed (now the Heineken Champions Cup), the other three provinces were entered but Connaught were forced to play in the European Rugby Challenge Cup, a second-tier competition.
However, since joining the PRO14 in 2001-02 (then known as the Celtic League), they have been reasonably successful. Against the odds, the team won the tournament in the 2015-16 season and they’ve also featured in the semi-final stage once and the quarter-final stage three times.
The Connacht Rugby team have also fared well in European competitions. They’ve reached the semi-final stage of the European Rugby Challenge Cup three times and they’ve appeared in the Heineken Champions Cup on seven occasions (including the qualifying rounds).
Matthew Burke Prop 
Paddy McAllister Prop 
Dennis Buckley Prop 
Shane Delahunt Hooker 
Dave Heffernan Hooker 
Finlay Bealham Prop 
Dominic Robertson-McCoy Prop 
Jack Aungier Prop 
Conor Kenny Prop 
Oisin Dowling Lock 
Gavin Thornbury Lock 
Quinn Roux Lock 
Ultan Dillane Lock 
Jarrad Butler Flanker 6 
Sean O'Brien Flanker 6 
Sean Masterson Flanker 6 
Conor Oliver Flanker 7 
Abraham Papali'i Number 8 
Cillian Gallagher Number 8 
Eoghan Masterson Number 8 
Paul Boyle Number 8 
Dylan Tierney-Martin Fullback 
Diarmuid Kilgallen 
Jonny Murphy 
Ben O'Donnell 
Colm Reilly 
Oran McNulty Fullback 
Cian Prendergast Fullback 
Bundee Aki Fullback 
Peter Sullivan 
Jordan Duggan 
Kieran Marmion Scrum half 
Caolin Blade Scrum half 
Stephen Kerins Scrum half 
Conor Dean Fly half 
Jack Carty Fly half 
Conor Fitzgerald Fly half 
John Porch Wing 
Colm de Buitlear Wing 
Matt Healy Wing 
Alex Wootton Wing 
Thomas Farrell Centre 
Bundee Aki Centre 
Peter Robb Centre 
Thomas Farrell Centre 
Sam Arnold Centre 
Tom Daly Centre 
Tiernan O'Halloran Fullback 
Stephen Fitzgerald Fullback Due to the fact that Connacht Rugby have a smaller playing population than the other Irish provinces, the team has a strong and proud history of developing academy players who are native to the province. Historically, these players include big names like Robbie Henshaw and Jack Carty, who is the club’s record point scorer in the PRO14. However, unlike other provinces, Connacht also has a policy of bringing players in from outside its jurisdiction that have failed to reach their senior provincial team, such as Robbie McGrath and Victor Costello, who both went on to represent Ireland.
Traditionally, the Connacht Rugby team does not contain as many Irish internationals as the other provinces. However, several international players do currently feature in the Connaught Rugby squad, such as prop Finlay Bealham, lock Ultan Dillane and centre Bundee Aki.
Read on to learn even more about the Connacht Rugby team. On this page you can learn more about the team’s upcoming fixtures, recent results and all the latest news.
