HEINEKEN CUP CONNACHT: GERRY THORNLEYtalks to the proud Connacht coach who is looking forward to locking horns with Europe's big guns in the hectic weeks ahead
CONNACHT RUGBY is in a tizzy. Having been banging on a closed door for 16 years, on Friday week they kick off the 17th Heineken Cup away to the unbeaten English Premiership leaders, Harlequins, before hosting the aristocrats and four-time winners from Toulouse in the first of three near 9,000 sell-outs in the expanded Sportsground a week later.
Dizzying times alright.
One nagging aspect of all this rankles. Among their 15 departures last season were one of their primary ball-carriers (Seán Cronin), the man who locked their scrum (Jamie Hagan), their primary points gatherer (Ian Keatley) and their primary finisher (Fionn Carr). And their largely rebuilt squad operates with the smallest budget and numbers.
Additional funding wouldn’t have gone amiss, but last week Connacht played Cardiff in the first of 13 successive competitive matches. Embracing their first foray into the Heineken Cup, Eric Elwood yesterday made public his vow that allowing for injuries and loss of form, Connacht will seek to put their best team and their best foot forward in all of them.
“Yeah, we lost some key players, it is tough, we got 15 new fellas in and it will take time for them to gel,” said Elwood. “We’re only seven games into the league. What hurts us most is depth, in terms of numbers. So ideally we’d like to have more numbers because that does help in a very competitive Rabo and ERC pool.”
Elwood was asked if there was any additional funding from the IRFU on foot of qualifying for the blue riband of European club rugby courtesy of Leinster’s win last May. “Our squad, and all squads, was assembled before we got into the ERC so obviously when you have your squad assembled there’s not a lot you can do. Every team is working within budgets and our budget is long spent,” he added with a wry laugh.
Thus, the Connacht coach won’t have the same scope as his three Irish counterparts to rotate his playing resources, but so be it.
“We don’t have the luxury of making eight or nine changes every week, or resting fellas. We’ve a squad of 29 full-time players, and seven or eight development guys plus some academy boys. They’re the facts. So for us to be competitive, we’ll be picking our strongest team every week unless there are outstanding form or injury issues.
“It is difficult, it is what we have and we’re not in the business of making excuses. We’re very much looking forward to confronting the challenges head on and our priority, as professional athletes and coaches, is we’re going out to win every game.”
Elwood spoke passionately about the challenges which their debut Heineken Cup campaign will present to Connacht on and off the field, and cites the first of those home sell-outs against Toulouse on Saturday fortnight as a chance to showcase Connacht and the Sportsground, where the new shed-like stand has been nicknamed “the Clan Terrace”.
“One of the values I’ve been trying to instill into the boys is that our atmosphere now is very much a family, and obviously the Gaeilge for family is ‘clan’ and we’ve latched onto that with the Clan Terrace.” The foundations are already in place for adding seating, while there is a temporary stand and additional terracing at both ends of the ground.
Of Connacht’s ambitions Elwood says: “I’m not going to say where we’re going to be in 10 years’ time. I know where I’d like to be but we just need to show all this ambition to get where we want to be. We get judged by what we do on the field and also on the work we do off the field. We’ve started something, it’s bubbling, so let’s see where it takes us.”
Elwood likened Toulouse’s visit to Crawley Town hosting Manchester United in the FA Cup, with him up against the Alex Ferguson of the game in Guy Noves. “No-one realistically expects you to beat Toulouse but that’s the challenge and sport can be unpredictable. We’ll relish that challenge.
“I don’t worry about the Toulouse game. I’m more worried about Ulster this weekend because that (Toulouse game) will look after itself. There’s no doubt everybody will raise the bar. It will be a full house, it’s on TV, it’s terrific. It’s where we want to be and let’s hope we can be competitive because it’s a big day out for Connacht rugby.”
Although he was part of Connacht teams that hosted international touring sides, Elwood admitted he will be a little envious of his players. “I was fortunate enough that I played international rugby so I played in the big arenas and stadia. But I’m proud of where I come from. I played there for 20-odd years and now I’m coaching but I would love to be on the park in front of a full house in the biggest club competition.
“Yea, we’ve had the All Blacks and we had Australia but to be playing against the quality of that team in the best competition in the world would have been terrific . . . At least I’ll have the buzz of coaching from the sideline and pitting my wits against the best. That’s the beauty of it. You lose in one and you gain in the other.”
