CONNACHT RUGBY’S REMARKABLE journey to the Guinness Pro12 title will soon be detailed in a new book.
The publication will chart the province’s battle against extinction just over a decade ago all the way to last weekend’s historic win in Edinburgh.
The book is being written by well-known Galway-based journalist John Fallon of Media West (Ireland), who is also a former manager of Connacht.
The publication will look at the impact of professionalism in Ireland and how the IRFU, Connacht and the other provinces have dealt with it.
Fallon has been covering Connacht for the past 32 years for a variety of print, broadcast and online media, including The42.
In a break from journalism, he was uniquely placed when the IRFU proposed to disband Connacht in the winter of 2002-03 as he had taken over as team manager the previous summer and served for a number of years.
The book will describe the impact the proposed disbandment had on players, management and staff, the battle which ensued to save the team and the struggle to make the side competitive in the subsequent years.
It will also look at the change in structures and the arrival of Pat Lam three years ago, leading to the remarkable campaign this season which culminated in the Pro12 final win over Leinster last weekend.
“To me it’s the story of the team which refused to die,” says Fallon, “the team which has had to battle harder than anyone for success and it’s a story which encapsulates all the values you want from sport.
“It has been a privilege to be have be part of it, mainly from the comfort of the press benches but also from having been inside the fold in those traumatic years when it looked like Connacht was to be killed off.”
