2019–20 Connacht Rugby season explained

Club:Connacht
Season:2019–20
Chairman:Willie Ruane
Chrtitle:Chief executive
Manager:Andy Friend
Mgrtitle:Head coach
Captain:Jarrad Butler
League:Pro14
League Result:4th, Conf. B
Cup1:Champions Cup
Cup1 Result:Pool stage (4th)
Points Scorer:Conor Fitzgerald (85)
Try Scorer:John Porch (6)
Highest Attendance:8,129 v Leinster
8 November 2019
8,129 v Munster
21 December 2019
8,129 v Toulouse
11 January 2020
Lowest Attendance:4,512 v Cardiff Blues
15 February 2020
Average Attendance:6,316
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Prevseason:2018–19
Nextseason:2020–21

The 2019–20 season was Irish provincial rugby union side Connacht Rugby's nineteenth season competing in the Pro14, and the team's twenty-fourth season as a professional side. It was Andy Friend's second season in charge of the side.

In the regular season, Connacht were placed in Conference B of the Pro14, after spending the previous two seasons in Conference A. As well as playing in the Pro14, the team competed in the Champions Cup in Europe on the back of the previous season's league performance. They were drawn into pool 5 with Gloucester, Montpellier and Toulouse, and finished bottom of the table. In addition to the league and European competitions, the Connacht Eagles development side again competed in the Celtic Cup. The Eagles finished third in the regular season of the eight-team competition, just two points behind finalists Ulster A.

On 12 March 2020, with 13 of Connacht's 21 fixtures in the regular season of the Pro14 completed, the league was put on indefinite hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.[1] The competition resumed in August, with the remaining fixtures replaced by two rounds of derby games for each team.[2] Connacht ultimately finished fourth in their conference. This was enough to earn entry to the 2020–21 Champions Cup after it was expanded to 24 teams on a one-season basis due to the pandemic.[3]

Coaching and management team

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Individuals may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

RoleNameUnion
Chief ExecutiveWillie Ruane[4]
Team ManagerTim Allnutt[5]
Head CoachAndy Friend[6]
Forwards CoachJimmy Duffy[7]
Backs CoachNigel Carolan[8]
Defence CoachPeter Wilkins[9]
Senior Video AnalystSimon Kavanagh[10]
Head of Strength and ConditiongDavid Howarth[11]
Senior Strength and Conditioning CoachJohnny O'Connor[12]
Academy ManagerEric Elwood[13]
Connacht Eagles CoachMossy Lawler[14]

Players

Senior playing squad

Connacht Rugby Pro14 squad
Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Wings

Fullbacks

(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players.
* denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.
Italics indicate players signed during mid-season break.
Players and their allocated positions from the Connacht Rugby website.[15]

Academy squad

Connacht Rugby Academy squad
Props

Hookers

  • Declan Adamson (1)
  • Dylan Tierney-Martin (2)

Locks

Back row
  • Joshua Dunne (2)
  • Seán Masterson (3)
  • Oisín McCormack (1)
  • Mikey Wilson (2)

Scrum-halves

  • Colm Reilly (2)

Fly-halves

Centres
  • Shane Jennings (1)
  • Seán O'Brien (2)

Wings

  • Conor Hayes (2)
  • Hugh Lane (1)
  • Oran McNulty (2)

Fullbacks

(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players, number in brackets indicates players stage in the three-year academy cycle.
* denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.
Players and their allocated positions from the Connacht Rugby website.[16]

Senior team transfers

Unlike most seasons, where the bulk of transfers occur during the summer pre-season the 2019–20 season saw two separate periods of major transfer activity. Many moves scheduled to happen at the end of the season instead took place during the extended hiatus from March to August 2020.

May 2019 – March 2020

Players in

Players out

May 2020 – August 2020

Players in

Players out

Results

Pro14

See main article: 2019–20 Pro14.

Conference Rounds 1 to 13

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Additional Derby Rounds

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Champions Cup

See main article: 2019–20 European Rugby Champions Cup.

Pool 5

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Coronavirus: Pro14 final cancelled due to coronavirus . . 19 March 2020 . 19 April 2020.
  2. Web site: Pro14 set to resume in late August as league reduced . . 18 June 2020 . 29 July 2020.
  3. Web site: 25 June 2020. New EPCR dates for 2019/20 announced. 24 July 2020. European Professional Club Rugby.
  4. Web site: Connacht appoint Willie Ruane as new CEO . . 23 May 2014 . 8 May 2014.
  5. Web site: I just came over here to visit my brother and I never left . . 16 January 2015 . 1 October 2016.
  6. Web site: Andy Friend confirmed as new Connacht head coach . . 24 May 2018 . 24 May 2018.
  7. Web site: Jimmy Duffy is new Connacht forwards coach . . 30 September 2015 . 9 June 2015.
  8. Web site: Connacht confirm Carolan and Duffy as part of new coaching team . . 23 May 2017 . 21 May 2017.
  9. Web site: Connacht appoint former Queensland Reds and Edinburgh defence coach . . 9 May 2017 . 21 May 2017.
  10. Web site: Conor McPhilips to replace Andre Bell as Connacht backs' coach . . 8 June 2016 . 1 October 2016.
  11. Web site: Aussie coach joins Connacht backroom team after three years with leading NBA side . . 8 June 2017 . 9 June 2017.
  12. Web site: Connacht son Johnny O'Connor returns to join club's backroom team . . 25 June 2017 . 26 June 2017.
  13. Web site: Connacht legend Eric Elwood succeeds Carolan as academy manager . . 28 April 2017 . 21 May 2017.
  14. Web site: Former Irish international added to the Connacht coaching ticket for the remainder of the season . . 28 December 2016 . 12 January 2017.
  15. Web site: Connacht Rugby Senior Squad. Connacht Rugby. 6 July 2018.
  16. Web site: Academy Squad . Connacht Rugby . 14 September 2018.
  17. News: Three Connacht Academy players sign first professional contracts. 9 April 2019. Connacht Rugby. 10 April 2019.
  18. News: Connacht sign prop Rory Burke as Kerins becomes latest Academy graduate. 14 May 2019. Connacht Rugby. 14 May 2019.
  19. News: First end-of-season departure confirmed by Gloucester Rugby as prop agrees to join Connacht. Gloucestershire Live. 15 January 2019.
  20. Web site: Wexford man Boyle secures first professional contract with Connacht . . 21 November 2018 . 17 January 2019.
  21. News: Daly, Fitzgerald and Lloyd the latest to sign Connacht contracts. 10 April 2019. Connacht Rugby. 11 April 2019.
  22. News: Connacht Rugby announce signing of Australian winger John Porch. 15 May 2019. Connacht Rugby. 15 May 2019.
  23. Web site: Marmion out for 3-4 weeks as depleted Connacht prepare for Montpellier . . 14 November 2019 . 15 November 2019.
  24. News: Worcester Warriors: Connacht prop Conor Carey signs for Premiership club. BBC Sport. 5 February 2019.
  25. News: Connacht prop O'Donnell joins Japanese Super Rugby outfit. 7 May 2019. The42. 7 May 2019.
  26. News: James Cannon to join Ealing Trailfinders from Connacht. Ealing Trailfinders. 25 April 2019.
  27. News: Reigning champions Cork Con edge Munster derby and new boys run Terenure close as AIL kicks off in style. The42. 5 October 2019.
  28. News: Connolly joins the Nottingham back-row. Nottingham R.F.C.. 12 July 2019.
  29. News: James Mitchell: Northampton Saints sign former Connacht scrum-half. BBC Sport. 3 September 2019.
  30. Web site: Energia All-Ireland League: Results Round-Up . . 19 October 2019 . 15 November 2019.
  31. News: Delahunt and Robb extend Connacht contracts as Griffin announces retirement. 11 April 2019. Connacht Rugby. 11 April 2019.
  32. Web site: Queanbeyan Whites and Brumbies junior Will Goddard joins Connacht . . 14 November 2019 . 8 September 2020.
  33. News: Pro14: Connacht wing Cian Kelleher to rejoin Leinster next season. BBC Sport. 8 January 2019.
  34. News: Connacht promote six exciting academy prospects into their senior squad. 3 June 2020. The42. 3 June 2020.
  35. News: Connacht announce signings of four players ahead of 2020/21 season. 18 May 2020. Connacht Rugby. 18 May 2020.
  36. News: Connacht Rugby announce signings of Ben O’Donnell and Abraham Papali’i. Connacht Rugby. 8 July 2020. 8 July 2020.
  37. News: Player Update Alex Wootton. 3 July 2020. Munster Rugby. 3 July 2020.
  38. News: Connacht's McCartney to hang up boots. 7 April 2020. Irish Examiner. 7 April 2020.
  39. News: Connacht Rugby confirm departing players. 29 May 2020. Connacht Rugby. 29 May 2020.
  40. News: Joe Maksymiw: Dragons sign Wales-qualified lock from Connacht. BBC Sport. 1 July 2020. 1 July 2020.
  41. News: Connacht's Robin Copeland signs for French club on a three-year deal. 18 May 2020. The42. 18 May 2020.
  42. News:
    1. TRANSFERT. Colby Fainga'a sera Lyonnais
    . 12 February 2020. Lyon OU Rugby. 20 February 2020. fr. 19 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200219052021/http://www.lourugby.fr/actualites/transfert-colby-fainga-a-sera-lyonnais/25226/. dead.
  43. Web site: A complete team-by-team guide to the 2020 Shute Shield . . 17 July 2020 . 25 August 2020 . Former Waratah Dave Horwitz also returns from overseas to start at No.10.
  44. News: Force confirm Godwin, Holmes signings. Rugby.com.au. 12 June 2020. 12 June 2020.
  45. News: Bristol sign Niyi Adeolokun, Peter McCabe & Keiron Assiratti on short-term deals. 27 August 2020. BBC Sport. 27 August 2020.