Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen, Finlay Bealham and captain Cian Prendergast have returned to Connacht training this week and are ready to resume their provincial seasons on Saturday as Munster visit MacHale Park in Mayo.
With a sold-out crowd of 26,000 people expected in Castlebar, this should be one of the highlights of the URC season.
It’s certainly a big step up from Connacht’s usual home games at Dexcom Stadium, which is currently undergoing redevelopment, so calling on their Ireland internationals will be useful.
“You have to lean on the experience and the international quality you have in your group,” said Connacht scrum and contact coach Colm Tucker, who is leading the team while head coach Pete Wilkins is on sick leave.
“They’ve already started playing a huge role in the week and I’m sure they’ll play a massive role on Saturday for us.”
Munster have their own returning Ireland players in Tadhg Beirne, Jack Crowley, Conor Murray, Calvin Nash, and Peter O’Mahony, while Craig Casey, Jean Kleyn, Jack O’Donoghue, Thaakir Abrahams, and Oli Jager are back from injury in a further boost.
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So Connacht are expecting a ferocious contest, particularly given how important this game is for both provinces’ URC play-off hopes.
Connacht's Colm Tucker. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
Taking the game to new ground in Castlebar makes it all the more special. The home side will lean into that element of the game, but don’t want it to dominate their thoughts.
“Going to MacHale Park, 26,000 people, sold out very quickly within an hour and a massive spread of ticket sales across all five counties,” said Tucker, “it’s a massively exciting day for the club.
“I think you have to acknowledge the occasion, but you have to be process-driven and calm in how you train. We have to go through the exact same steps every week.
“It’s a very special week, we have acknowledged that as a group. We’ve spoken about MacHale Park and there’s a lot of excitement within the group about going up there, but we’ll build calmly through the week and get a feel for it when we go up there on Friday.
“The excitement of our support and what they will bring will be fantastic.”
The Connacht coaching staff have a little extra on their plates with head coach Wilkins remaining on sick leave.
Tucker has stepped up to lead the group but they haven’t called in any extra coaches ahead of the Munster game. Tucker, attack coach Mark Sexton, defence coach Scott Fardy, and forwards coach John Muldoon are confident that all bases are covered.
“We’ve kept to what we have ourselves,” said Tucker. “Myself, Scott Fardy, Juhn Mul and Mark Sexton – the four of us are just leading the group for this week.
MacHale Park in Castlebar. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“A little bit of a dissemination of duties around us a little bit more, but the four of us are very clear in how we want to play and how we want to approach the game. We’re going to be leading it.
“We feel we have a lot of experience between the four of us, a lot of good rugby knowledge and leaning heavily on the leadership group here, we feel we’ll have the team in a good place to perform on Saturday.”
Another man who will miss out this weekend is wing Shayne Bolton, who suffered a foot sprain in the first half of last weekend’s defeat to the Ospreys.
“Hopefully it’s not too bad, I don’t think it is, we’ll see him back sooner rather than later,” said Tucker of Bolton’s injury.
“He’s been unlucky with injuries to be fair to him but showed a lot of resilience to come back and perform. A very exciting talent, so hopefully this isn’t too bad and he’ll get a good run on the back of it.”
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'26,000 people at MacHale Park. It's massively exciting for Connacht'
THE BIG GUNS are back for the big occasion.
Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen, Finlay Bealham and captain Cian Prendergast have returned to Connacht training this week and are ready to resume their provincial seasons on Saturday as Munster visit MacHale Park in Mayo.
With a sold-out crowd of 26,000 people expected in Castlebar, this should be one of the highlights of the URC season.
It’s certainly a big step up from Connacht’s usual home games at Dexcom Stadium, which is currently undergoing redevelopment, so calling on their Ireland internationals will be useful.
“You have to lean on the experience and the international quality you have in your group,” said Connacht scrum and contact coach Colm Tucker, who is leading the team while head coach Pete Wilkins is on sick leave.
“They’ve already started playing a huge role in the week and I’m sure they’ll play a massive role on Saturday for us.”
Munster have their own returning Ireland players in Tadhg Beirne, Jack Crowley, Conor Murray, Calvin Nash, and Peter O’Mahony, while Craig Casey, Jean Kleyn, Jack O’Donoghue, Thaakir Abrahams, and Oli Jager are back from injury in a further boost.
So Connacht are expecting a ferocious contest, particularly given how important this game is for both provinces’ URC play-off hopes.
Taking the game to new ground in Castlebar makes it all the more special. The home side will lean into that element of the game, but don’t want it to dominate their thoughts.
“Going to MacHale Park, 26,000 people, sold out very quickly within an hour and a massive spread of ticket sales across all five counties,” said Tucker, “it’s a massively exciting day for the club.
“I think you have to acknowledge the occasion, but you have to be process-driven and calm in how you train. We have to go through the exact same steps every week.
“It’s a very special week, we have acknowledged that as a group. We’ve spoken about MacHale Park and there’s a lot of excitement within the group about going up there, but we’ll build calmly through the week and get a feel for it when we go up there on Friday.
“The excitement of our support and what they will bring will be fantastic.”
The Connacht coaching staff have a little extra on their plates with head coach Wilkins remaining on sick leave.
Tucker has stepped up to lead the group but they haven’t called in any extra coaches ahead of the Munster game. Tucker, attack coach Mark Sexton, defence coach Scott Fardy, and forwards coach John Muldoon are confident that all bases are covered.
“We’ve kept to what we have ourselves,” said Tucker. “Myself, Scott Fardy, Juhn Mul and Mark Sexton – the four of us are just leading the group for this week.
“A little bit of a dissemination of duties around us a little bit more, but the four of us are very clear in how we want to play and how we want to approach the game. We’re going to be leading it.
“We feel we have a lot of experience between the four of us, a lot of good rugby knowledge and leaning heavily on the leadership group here, we feel we’ll have the team in a good place to perform on Saturday.”
Another man who will miss out this weekend is wing Shayne Bolton, who suffered a foot sprain in the first half of last weekend’s defeat to the Ospreys.
“Hopefully it’s not too bad, I don’t think it is, we’ll see him back sooner rather than later,” said Tucker of Bolton’s injury.
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Connacht Munster RISE UP URC West's awake