Why Don't More Young Players Move to Connacht?

There are a good few young Irish players who really need some game time to improve. I just think if the IRFU set up some feeder program with Connacht and the other provinces it would be hugely beneficial for Irish rugby.

Players I have in mind would be: Scholes, L McGrath, Dom Ryan, Leavy, Hanrahan(If Munster had a Gopperth), Furlong.

Would boost Connachts squad and get these young talents a lot more game time.

Paddy Butler and Dominic Ryan could surely benefit from playing there for sure.

Dom Ryan is the only one there that i think should move.

I would say they are all happy where they are and think they can break into the first team of their own province. Ryan aside they are all really young and all (Hanrahan?) still in the academies.

All of those players are really highly rated by their provinces and its a massive slap in the face to the provinces who develop them if they are taken and moved elsewhere.

Fair enough for players that are on the fringes of the squad and not seeing much game time ala Ryan but for academy players I dont think well see much movement.

Sending young players to Connacht for a couple of years would not be beneficial to Connacht at all as there would constantly be players coming and going from the province. Their squad would never settle.

The days of Connacht being a development province are long over. Connacht are already developing their own young players through their academy.

You can see from looking at the Under 20s squads for the last couple of years that Connacht actually have a pretty strong underage organisation

Golden wrote:You can see from looking at the Under 20s squads for the last couple of years that Connacht actually have a pretty strong underage organisation

They won the U19 or U20 interpros last year.

The IRFU are being very crafty - and have been with Connacht.

There was a time the talk was that they would have to wrap up Connacht to make resources spread better.  So it's certainly progress from those dark days to tonight.

That's only the first thing.  The second is that there was no way they could indeed spread resources between all four Provinces and still have a few Provinces that could really fight at the highest level in Europe.  So yes, Connacht suffered as a result - but it has always known it is a 'development' side.

So pool resources into the top three sides and what happened?  

Not only did Leinster go though their successful period in Europe but they dragged a side that had no right to be there up with them to play in HEC - that side being Connacht.

By giving resources to Leinster, Connacht gets quicker into HEC than they would have whilst trying to play themselves there as a top three Irish side.  

And with participation comes experience, and with participation comes a more solid and passionate following, and with participation comes more favourable sponsorship terms into the future and money into IRFU.

The identity of Connacht is growing all the while.  Their ideas about themselves have now moved beyond the notion that they are a 'development' side.  Now they will be demanding that they get the one or two players that they might need to consolidate and strengthen.

Four hard hitting Provinces knocking the stuffing out of each other and bringing each others skill levels up another gear should be the result if the plan is allowed continue.

But it's IRFU doing it, and IRFU who was getting it in the neck for deserting the Province and allowing other vultures to steal their best players.

I think it's been some neat planning by them that may be about to pay dividends if Connacht can get those few extra players that might help them push on and up.

The thing is that nowadays young players are choosing to go to Connacht because theres so much competition for places in the other provinces.


Players going to Connacht for a year or two would benefit Connacht though. How about having the likes of Jack Conan, Dave O'Callaghan etc. If Ireland was run like NZ rugby then those are the type of players who would go to Connacht.