Connacht Rugby season preview: Good start essential if Friend’s men are to reach their goal

Prospects

Realistically, this looks like being a tough season for Connacht.

In addition to a radical overhaul of the coaching ticket, Andy Friend has been forced into a bigger makeover of the playing squad than he would have envisaged, with seven young former Irish under-20 players either forced to retire prematurely – Seán O'Brien (26) the lock cum flanker, Stephen Fitzgerald (25) and Cillian Gallagher (24) – or released, or poached, as in the case of Seán O'Brien (23), the centre who was acquired by Exeter Chiefs.

Then there was also the departure to Toulon of Quinn Roux, in many respects the glue in their pack and who had come out of his shell to become a real personality and leader. It remains to be seen if the 32-year-old Tongan lock Leva Fifita can fill that void, or maybe even add something different with his ball carrying.

To begin with, Connacht will also be without Denis Buckley, the 30-year-old loosehead having suffered his cruel ACL injury after within a minute of leading the side out on his 200th appearance for the province away to Benetton at the end of May. The prognosis is that he will be sidelined until around next February.

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The ex-Leinster pair of Greg McGrath and Sam Illo are tightheads with the longer-term in mind and Friend says he, manager Tom Allnutt and chief executive Willie Ruane have been working "tirelessly" to acquire experienced cover for this season, not an easy find, but he's optimistic that they will have some positive news in the next day or two.

They also start the season with a few injuries and are especially thin at scrumhalf. With nothing like the resources of their rivals, just as pertinently the reduced fixture list means there will be fewer matches during international windows to afford Connacht a more level playing field, and facilitate the kind of flying start they made when winning the 2015-16 title.

Nonetheless, with four of their first six games at home, a good start looks essential if Connacht are to reach the goal stated by Friend and captain Jarrad Butler of securing a home quarter-final – ie finishing in the top four. They face an arduous run-in, with five of their last seven away, including their South African safari with games against the Lions and Sharks next April.

To qualify for next season’s Heineken Champions Cup, in all probability they would need to finish in the top three of the ‘Irish’ group as well as the top six or so in the overall table, and Friend is determined that Connacht will not miss out.

In this season’s Champions Cup, they have Stade Francais (pointless and bottom of the Top 14 after three defeats) and Steve Borthwick’s upwardly-mobile Leicester, who overpowered Connacht 48-32 in the Challenge Cup round of 16 last April.

On the plus side has been the emergence of lock Niall Murray and 21-year-old backrower Cian Prendergast, whose toughness, professionalism and timing on to the ball in attack and in defence mark him out as a special talent. They may have a relatively thin squad, but not in the backrow.

The speedy Irish-qualified, Aussie-born, 23-year-old Mack Hansen, signed from the Brumbies, could be a real find and can also cover outhalf.

Friend, who was home in Australia for the first time in three years over the summer, says he “wouldn’t recommend 14 days in quarantine to anyone”, has enforced a new mantra for this season: Fast, Relentless and Adaptable.

“That’s what we want to be,” says Friend. “We want to be seen as fast – a team that plays with tempo and wants to play footie. We want to be relentless – we don’t want to be a team that you can ever say gave up. We want to always be there in the fight and always working as hard as we can.

“And then adaptable. Given the conditions we play in and the style of team we are compared to others, we need to adapt our game and be smart. So they’re the three words that we’re using; fast, relentless and adaptable.”

The seasonal format and the odds (joint 10th in the URC betting at 80-1) are stacked against them but Connacht will be good to watch and, who knows, could surprise. They’ve done it before.

Men in charge

Heretofore Friend himself has never stayed beyond three years in the same job so, entering his fourth campaign, signing up for at least another two years demonstrates both his commitment to Connacht and his belief that more can be achieved.

Underneath him though, there has been complete change after the long-serving duo of Jimmy Duffy and Nigel Carolan opted to broaden their horizons. Pete Wilkins has shifted from his role overseeing the defence to the new remit of senior coach, which involves running Connacht's attack, with Colm Tucker promoted to defence coach, Mossy Lawlor to attack and skills coach, and Dewald Senekal the new forwards coach who will seek to address an Achilles heel last season when defending lineout mauls.

“We’re changing our game style a bit so early wins would give us confidence in that,” says Friend.

Players In

Alex Wootton (Munster), Mack Hansen (Brumbies), Leva Fifita (Grenoble), Shayne Bolton (Shimlas), Greg McGrath (Leinster), Sam Illo (Leinster), Oran McNulty, Cian Prendergast, Dylan Tierney-Martin (all promoted from Academy).

Players Out

Quinn Roux (Toulon), Stephen Fitzgerald (retired), Seán O’Brien (centre, Exeter Chiefs), Stephen Kerins (Ealing Trailfinders), Conor Dean (released), Colm de Buitléar (released), Paddy McAllister (retired), Cillian Gallagher (retired), Conor Kenny (Newcastle Falcons), Seán O’Brien (backrow/lock, retired)

Key man: Abraham Papali’i

After three red cards his reputation precedes him but if he and the Connacht coaches can lower his tackle height and if the down-to-earth, easy-going, 28-year-old Aucklander of Samoan heritage has also achieved the fitness levels to put in longer shifts, his ball-carrying could make him a genuine game-breaker. He scored four tries in his last eight appearances.