| 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 |
| Pattern La1: | _connacht_home_19-20 |
| Pattern B1: | _connacht_home_19-20 |
| Pattern Ra1: | _connacht_home_19-20 |
| Pattern Sh1: | _connacht_home_19-20 |
| Pattern So1: | _connacht_home_19-20 |
| Leftarm1: | 42745b |
| Body1: | 42745b |
| Rightarm1: | 42745b |
| Shorts1: | 42745b |
| Socks1: | 42745b |
| Pattern La2: | _connacht_away_19-20 |
| Pattern B2: | _connacht_away_19-20b |
| Pattern Ra2: | _connacht_away_19-20 |
| Pattern Sh2: | _connacht_away_19-20 |
| Pattern So2: | _connacht_away_19-20 |
| Leftarm2: | 1c1c1c |
| Body2: | 1c1c1c |
| Rightarm2: | 1c1c1c |
| Shorts2: | 1c1c1c |
| Socks2: | 1c1c1c |
| Pattern La3: | _connacht_euro_19-20 |
| Pattern B3: | _connacht_euro_19-20 |
| Pattern Ra3: | _connacht_euro_19-20 |
| Pattern Sh3: | _connacht_euro_19-20 |
| Pattern So3: | _connacht_euro_19-20 |
| Leftarm3: | 1a273a |
| Body3: | 1a273a |
| Rightarm3: | 1a273a |
| Shorts3: | 1a273a |
| Socks3: | 1a273a |
| 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]
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Individuals may hold more than one non-WR nationality.
| Role | Name | Union |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive | Willie Ruane[4] | |
| Team Manager | Tim Allnutt[5] | |
| Head Coach | Andy Friend[6] | |
| Forwards Coach | Jimmy Duffy[7] | |
| Backs Coach | Nigel Carolan[8] | |
| Defence Coach | Peter Wilkins[9] | |
| Senior Video Analyst | Simon Kavanagh[10] | |
| Head of Strength and Conditiong | David Howarth[11] | |
| Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach | Johnny O'Connor[12] | |
| Academy Manager | Eric Elwood[13] | |
| Connacht Eagles Coach | Mossy Lawler[14] | |
| 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] |
| Connacht Rugby Academy squad | ||
|---|---|---|
Props
Hookers
Locks
| Back row
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
| Centres
Wings
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] |
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.
Players in
John Porch from Australia Sevens[22] Will Goddard from Brumbies Academy (short-term loan)[23]Players out
Sunwolves[25] Will Goddard to Brumbies Academy (end of loan)[32]Players in
Abraham Papali'i from Bay of Plenty Ben O'Donnell from Australia Sevens[36]Players out
Tom McCartney retired[38]
Soyaux Angoulême[41] Colby Fainga'a to Lyon[42] David Horwitz to Randwick[43] Kyle Godwin to Western Force[44]See main article: 2019–20 Pro14.
------------------------------------------------
----
See main article: 2019–20 European Rugby Champions Cup.
--------------------