HIS JOB MEANS rugby dominates his life, but Caolin Blade remains a passionate GAA man.
The Connacht and Ireland scrum-half played football and hurling growing up in Monivea, the former for Monivea Abbey and the latter with Abbeyknockmoy. He was nearly 20 by the time rugby demands meant he had to stop.
Blade’s closest friends are still heavily involved in GAA so he is too. He’s a diehard Galway fan.
So it’s safe to say he could never have imagined playing for the home team at Mayo’s MacHale Park until Connacht booked the stadium for this Saturday’s sold-out URC clash with rivals Munster.
Indeed, Blade has never even set foot in the place before.
“As much as I follow GAA, I’ve never strayed too far from Pearse Stadium, so I can’t wait to get up there on Friday for the captain’s run,” says Blade.
He listened with keen interest when Mayo football manager Kevin McStay presented to the Connacht squad on Tuesday morning.
“I’d never met him before,” says Blade. “He was just giving us a bit of history and where he is from, and MacHale Park and Mayo obviously.
“As a Galway man, I was a bit reserved!
“Na, I was delighted. It was very interesting and he just said our home at the weekend is MacHale Park and he made us feel extremely excited and extremely welcomed to go up to Mayo, especially as a Galway man.”
Connacht academy out-half Harry West is a Mayo native, while senior hooker and Ireland international Dave Heffernan hails from the same town of Ballina, around 30 minutes north of Castlebar, where Connacht will play Munster.
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Blade in action for Connacht last weekend. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
But Blade throws shade on Heffernan’s credentials.
“To be honest, I don’t know does Heff even watch football,” says Blade.
“If they get to a semi-final, Heff might come out of the woodwork,” says Prendergast. “In fairness, Harry West in the academy would have a lot to say about Mayo.”
Blade explains that some of Connacht’s imports have adopted Mayo as their home county.
“A few of the New Zealanders that have come over have taken a fancy to Mayo and they’ve all bought jerseys,” says Blade.
“I know Shamus Hurley-Langton has one, I know Bundee has one, I know Jarrad Butler when he was here had one. So they might have some affiliation with Mayo, but I won’t be putting on a Mayo jersey yet!”
He’s asked if he would support Mayo if they were the only Connacht team left standing in the All-Irelands.
“Oh yeah, I would, yeah,” says Blade.
Prendergast can’t resist interjecting again, “Would you actually?”
Blade smiles and responds, “I have to say that!”
Whatever about his feelings on Mayo, the scrum-half is excited for Saturday to roll around.
It’s a massive occasion for Connacht as they play in front of a record 26,000 home crowd but it’s also a crucial game in their bid for a URC play-off place.
“They’re our closest neighbours and probably our biggest rivals,” he says. “So, it’s going to be a huge game, an inter-pro, a must-win for us, a must-win for them. If we beat them we potentially go ahead of them, if they beat us they stay ahead.
“So to be doing it in Castlebar in MacHale Park in front of 26,000 people, if you’re not getting excited for this you’re doing something wrong.”
Blade was with Ireland throughout the Six Nations. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Blade was with Ireland for the entire Six Nations but didn’t get a chance to play, returning to Connacht for one of their fallow week games and then starting in the province’s number nine shirt last weekend away to the Ospreys.
Though he didn’t get a chance to add to his three Ireland caps, Blade insists it’s not challenging to act as the 24th man and be outside matchday squads.
“You’re still getting to represent your country. You mightn’t be playing but you still have an important job to do, whether it be prepping the lads all week and them being ready to play.
“The environment up there is so enjoyable, you’d bite anyone’s hand off to go even if you’re not playing. So I really enjoyed it, I didn’t find it challenging at all.
“You want to be playing and of course I have ambitions to play more for Ireland, but you still have to do your job and I did it happily.”
Blade has also had to fight for starting chances with Connacht this season, coming off the bench for their five opening games of the campaign as Ben Murphy took his chances early on.
Murphy is currently injured, but 23-year-old Matthew Devine is also ambitious about getting more starts. Blade used to be the one snapping at older scrum-halves’ heels.
“Life goes full circle,” he says with a smile. “Matty Devine, Colm Reilly and Ben Murphy coming down from Leinster, you need competition, you need depth.
“You can see Murph is out injured for a few weeks and we still need two nines and Colm Reilly needs to be there and ready, so it’s only going to benefit Connacht as a whole. I’m absolutely delighted for the lads.”
Yet this weekend may present Blade with a chance to underline his importance to the province, even if it’s in unfamiliar territory across what were once enemy lines in Mayo.
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'Bundee has one but I won't be putting on a Mayo jersey yet!'
HIS JOB MEANS rugby dominates his life, but Caolin Blade remains a passionate GAA man.
The Connacht and Ireland scrum-half played football and hurling growing up in Monivea, the former for Monivea Abbey and the latter with Abbeyknockmoy. He was nearly 20 by the time rugby demands meant he had to stop.
Blade’s closest friends are still heavily involved in GAA so he is too. He’s a diehard Galway fan.
So it’s safe to say he could never have imagined playing for the home team at Mayo’s MacHale Park until Connacht booked the stadium for this Saturday’s sold-out URC clash with rivals Munster.
Indeed, Blade has never even set foot in the place before.
“As much as I follow GAA, I’ve never strayed too far from Pearse Stadium, so I can’t wait to get up there on Friday for the captain’s run,” says Blade.
He listened with keen interest when Mayo football manager Kevin McStay presented to the Connacht squad on Tuesday morning.
“I’d never met him before,” says Blade. “He was just giving us a bit of history and where he is from, and MacHale Park and Mayo obviously.
“As a Galway man, I was a bit reserved!
“Na, I was delighted. It was very interesting and he just said our home at the weekend is MacHale Park and he made us feel extremely excited and extremely welcomed to go up to Mayo, especially as a Galway man.”
Connacht academy out-half Harry West is a Mayo native, while senior hooker and Ireland international Dave Heffernan hails from the same town of Ballina, around 30 minutes north of Castlebar, where Connacht will play Munster.
But Blade throws shade on Heffernan’s credentials.
“To be honest, I don’t know does Heff even watch football,” says Blade.
“He might make out he does.”
Connacht captain Cian Prendergast, sitting alongside Blade, can’t resist chipping in.
“If they get to a semi-final, Heff might come out of the woodwork,” says Prendergast. “In fairness, Harry West in the academy would have a lot to say about Mayo.”
Blade explains that some of Connacht’s imports have adopted Mayo as their home county.
“A few of the New Zealanders that have come over have taken a fancy to Mayo and they’ve all bought jerseys,” says Blade.
“I know Shamus Hurley-Langton has one, I know Bundee has one, I know Jarrad Butler when he was here had one. So they might have some affiliation with Mayo, but I won’t be putting on a Mayo jersey yet!”
He’s asked if he would support Mayo if they were the only Connacht team left standing in the All-Irelands.
“Oh yeah, I would, yeah,” says Blade.
Prendergast can’t resist interjecting again, “Would you actually?”
Blade smiles and responds, “I have to say that!”
Whatever about his feelings on Mayo, the scrum-half is excited for Saturday to roll around.
It’s a massive occasion for Connacht as they play in front of a record 26,000 home crowd but it’s also a crucial game in their bid for a URC play-off place.
“They’re our closest neighbours and probably our biggest rivals,” he says. “So, it’s going to be a huge game, an inter-pro, a must-win for us, a must-win for them. If we beat them we potentially go ahead of them, if they beat us they stay ahead.
“So to be doing it in Castlebar in MacHale Park in front of 26,000 people, if you’re not getting excited for this you’re doing something wrong.”
Blade was with Ireland for the entire Six Nations but didn’t get a chance to play, returning to Connacht for one of their fallow week games and then starting in the province’s number nine shirt last weekend away to the Ospreys.
Though he didn’t get a chance to add to his three Ireland caps, Blade insists it’s not challenging to act as the 24th man and be outside matchday squads.
“You’re still getting to represent your country. You mightn’t be playing but you still have an important job to do, whether it be prepping the lads all week and them being ready to play.
“The environment up there is so enjoyable, you’d bite anyone’s hand off to go even if you’re not playing. So I really enjoyed it, I didn’t find it challenging at all.
“You want to be playing and of course I have ambitions to play more for Ireland, but you still have to do your job and I did it happily.”
Blade has also had to fight for starting chances with Connacht this season, coming off the bench for their five opening games of the campaign as Ben Murphy took his chances early on.
Murphy is currently injured, but 23-year-old Matthew Devine is also ambitious about getting more starts. Blade used to be the one snapping at older scrum-halves’ heels.
“Life goes full circle,” he says with a smile. “Matty Devine, Colm Reilly and Ben Murphy coming down from Leinster, you need competition, you need depth.
“You can see Murph is out injured for a few weeks and we still need two nines and Colm Reilly needs to be there and ready, so it’s only going to benefit Connacht as a whole. I’m absolutely delighted for the lads.”
Yet this weekend may present Blade with a chance to underline his importance to the province, even if it’s in unfamiliar territory across what were once enemy lines in Mayo.
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bundee aki Caolin Blade Connacht Munster new ground URC