There will be a good battle for back row places in Pete Wilkins’ team this season.
AS WORK CONTINUES on building the new high performance centre, indoor training pitch, and North Stand at their Dexcom Stadium, Connacht are hoping to take big strides forward on the pitch this season.
Connacht have made six new signings, welcomed Josh Murphy back after he missed last season, and promoted three players from their academy. Peter Dooley joined Connacht from his native Leinster in 2022 with the hope that increased game time would help him push into the Ireland mix but that hasn’t happened yet, so the 30-year-old is sure to be highly motivated coming into this season.
Despite being Scottish-qualified, the confrontational McBurney wasn’t ‘captured’ by the Scots and remains qualified for his native Ireland. Jack Aungier has become the trusted back-up to Bealham and is delivering more consistent performances as he continues to learn from the Ireland international. 29-year-old David O’Connor has joined Connacht this season, having previously played for Ulster before a spell with Ealing in England. O’Connor can also play at blindside flanker, from where he scored a try in Connacht’s pre-season win over Glasgow.
Irish-qualified lock Joyce had a strong first season with Connacht after joining from Bristol, often leading their lineout, and brings useful grunt in the tight. Joyce was named captain for both of Connacht’s recent pre-season games. There will be ferocious back row competition within Connacht this season, even with the experienced Jarrad Butler having been released at the end of last season.
Blade got off to a flyer in 2023/24 but had to contend with the emergence of academy scrum-half Matthew Devine towards the end of the campaign, with the young Ballinasloe native showing off the thrilling attacking skills that made him such a good Ireland U20 international. With JJ Hanrahan’s ACL injury meaning he will likely be sidelined into early 2025, Connacht felt they had no choice but to recruit in this position. Having failed in a bid to bring Leinster’s Sam Prendergast to Galway on loan, they looked abroad and landed once-capped All Black Josh Ioane on a one-year deal.
As with other Ireland internationals, Bundee Aki won’t be available for the opening games of the URC season but Connacht fans will look forward to having his ballast and nous back in their green jersey as soon as possible. The Irish-qualified Piers O’Conor looks like a smart addition from Bristol, where he has impressed in recent years. The 29-year-old is an experienced option at outside centre or fullback, where he has started both pre-season games for Connacht. Wherever he plays, his classy attacking skills are likely to add something.
The aforementioned Piers O’Conor has come in from Bristol and started both pre-season games at fullback, providing a strong option there, while Ireland 7s international Chay Mullins has been promoted from the Connacht academy onto a senior contract after showing some of his ability at the Olympics.
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