DRIVING UP COLLEGE Road in Galway, it’s impossible to miss the sight and sounds of builders at work.
Construction is well underway as Connacht look towards the new era at their home ground, known as the Dexcom Stadium since a new sponsorship deal was announced in January.
Pete Wilkins and his squad are also busy at work out on the main pitch. It’s a synthetic surface these days, meaning Connacht have guaranteed pitch quality for training. It’s not long ago that the westerners would sometimes have to train on a back pitch that became like a bog in bad weather. Soon enough, they’ll even have an indoor training pitch.
Delightfully, it’s a nice day for this visit. There are few places as special as Galway when the sun is shining. The zip in Connacht’s session is obvious. A drone buzzes overhead recording everything for analysis as Wilkins’ team prepare for this weekend’s URC visit to the Dragons.
The 4G pitch and shiny new floodlights were the first part of a redevelopment that will modernise this place.
As you move past the Clan Terrace towards the back car park, you realise the terrace won’t be there much longer. It’s due to be hauled down in June to make way for a new stand.
So the home game against the Stormers on 18 May will see some of Connacht’s most faithful fans bidding farewell to their beloved Clan Terrace.
“I think we’ve got one more game with the Clan stand there, which you don’t think about – all the players who have played in front of it, all the fans who have stood in there,” says assistant coach Scott Fardy.
“I know it’s not the most beautiful stand in world rugby but people have had a good time there and seen some big games and had some special moments. It’s almost sad to see it go in that way.
“The first time you come here and hear them sing ‘The Fields of Athenry’ when you’re in front at the end of the game, it’s spine-tingling stuff. There’s a special thing happening with the new ground but you also have to make peace with the past.”
Good memories, sure, but it’s energising to see that ground has already been broken on the next stage of the project, the construction of Connacht’s new state-of-the-art high performance centre [HPC].
Work is expected to be finished in March 2025, leaving the province’s players with the top-end gym, recovery, physio, and analysis facilities other clubs have had for years. The HPC will also house the half-size indoor training pitch. Anyone who knows the Galway weather will appreciate how useful that’s going to be.
Even if it will be nearly a year before they can move into the HPC, Connacht’s players and coaches are excited. Not that they’ve ever complained about their relatively underwhelming facilities. One small example is that Connacht currently don’t have a canteen for meal times, a basic in other places. In the new set-up, they’ll have plenty of space for that and more, while the HPC will also have offices for the province’s ever-growing admin staff.
This summer, the Clan Terrace gets razed to make way for what will be an impressive new North Stand. It will fit 7,000 people on game days between the standing and seating areas.
There will also be big hospitality and conferencing space, while a new café will be open all week for locals with a big plaza area for people to sit and enjoy a coffee. The plan is for the North Stand to be finished at some stage during the 2025/26 season.
The new stadium will have a capacity of 12,000, a big leap on the current figure of 6,129, which can be extended to 8,129 with temporary seating. The extra space should help Connacht generate greater revenue, while the facilities in the North Stand are intended to bring in more money even when there’s no rugby on.
It’s costing €45 million to build it all. €20 million is coming from government funding, with the other €25 million from Connacht’s reserves, CVC money, naming rights, credit facilities, and donations.
There will be the temporary hit of reducing the Dexcom’s capacity next season while the North Stand is built, but the long-term payoff should be worth it. The redevelopment also means makeshift changing rooms will have to be installed out in the back car park for next season, but Connacht’s player will have access to their current gym until the new one is ready to go.
The hope within Connacht is that the greater revenue from the expanded stadium and the new world-class training facilities will go hand in hand as the province looks to take a big step forward.
They’re in a familiar position this season, fighting for a play-off spot after exiting the Champions and Challenge Cups earlier than they would have liked, but the plan for the future is to compete higher up.
Another reason for excitement is the increasing emergence of homegrown players. Connacht have had to lean on imports from other provinces and from abroad to stay competitive in recent years and while well-researched recruitment will continue to be part of the plan, there’s major pride in producing their own players.
Senior figures like Caolin Blade, Jack Carty, Tiernan O’Halloran, Dave Heffernan, and Denis Buckley have flown this flag for a long time and the new wave are following in their footsteps.
The Murray brothers, Niall and Darragh, have grown in the second row, Dylan Tierney-Martin and Eoin de Buitléar have made progress at hooker, while Cathal Forde has impressed at inside centre and Shane Jennings has shown his promise in the back three.
22-year-old scrum-half Matthew Devine from Ballinasloe is creating a real buzz now. His father, Mike, was a wing for Connacht and Matthew’s younger brother, centre John, is also in the academy.
Devine is moving onto a senior contract next season, as is promising 20-year-old centre Hugh Gavin. Galway man Gavin has played for the Ireland U20s for the last two years, impressing with his physicality and complete skillset.
They’re still prospects at this stage but Devine and Gavin are the kind of players Connacht fans get excited about. The entire organisation is determined to unearth and polish many more gems like them. There’s desire to produce top-class Connacht players but also Ireland internationals. And when Connacht simply don’t have the big budgets of other clubs, the academy must keep doing excellent work.
Gavin and Devine step up into a senior squad that looks likely to be trimmed down this summer.
Wilkins’ group currently includes 45 senior players but with fewer URC games these days, as well as the challenge of sticking to budget as the stadium is redeveloped, that number will probably come down ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
Connacht have already confirmed the departure of wing Diarmuid Kilgallen to Munster, while outside centre Tom Farrell has been linked with a move to the southern province too. Connacht are set to welcome a couple of new additions from Leinster.
Their big signing for the current season, Argentina international Santiago Cordero, was cruelly struck down by a major knee injury before he even played. Connacht have been impressed by Cordero’s stoic attitude in recovery and it has been fantastic to welcome him back to training recently.
Cordero isn’t available for this weekend’s clash away to the Dragons but his debut is close now. The 30-year-old is a hot-stepper who Connacht had earmarked to take over in their number 15 shirt so it would be good to see him finish this campaign out on the pitch before a big second season with the province.
Connacht have been very pleased with the impact of JJ Hanrahan at out-half since he arrived last summer, while the likes of Joe Joyce, Sean Jansen, and Andrew Smith have added to the squad.
Wilkins and co. will have been encouraged to see 24-year-old Cian Prendergast continuing to grow as a force, while Irish-qualified wing Shayne Bolton has been one of the success stories of the season. The 23-year-old is combative, quick, and coachable, so the Ireland coaches will surely be watching closely.
Of course, the current core Irish internationals – Bundee Aki, Finlay Bealham, and Mack Hansen – remain pivotal for Connacht. The absence of Hansen has been keenly felt in recent months. Any time he takes to the pitch for Connacht, the lift others get is visible and Hansen is obviously a world-class player himself. He’s missing this weekend again but is also close to a return.
While the Connacht squad continues to develop, the same is true in the coaching box. This is still Wilkins’ first season as the boss but his eye for detail and positive attitude are appreciated within the squad.
Attack coach Mark Sexton has also earned excellent reviews from the players and is set to take on more responsibility next season, while defence coach Scott Fardy himself says he has learned huge amounts in his 10 months with the province.
Scrum and contact specialist Collie Tucker has become an important voice and forwards coach John Muldoon knows the place like the back of his hand.
The same is true of several of the people working behind the scenes – the likes of CEO Willie Ruane, academy boss Eric Elwood, and senior commercial manager Gavin Duffy. It’s good to have people like that on the inside, folk who care deeply about Connacht.
There are challenges ahead but the West’s awake.
