ConnachtÕs world appears to be falling apart on every level

IN the space of little more than a fortnight, Connacht’s world has been turned upside down. Earlier this month, there was widespread celebration when the IRFU finally ended continued uncertainty about the squad’s medium-term future by putting in place new structures, pledging greater financial support, extending player and coaching contracts, and giving commitments about the transfer of promising players from their provincial counterparts.

Unfortunately, the roof has been caving in on Connacht ever since. Firstly, they failed to pick up a deserved bonus point in their away Amlin Cup defeat to Harlequins; secondly, reports began to emerge that three of the squad’s marquee players, Sean Cronin, Ian Keatley and Fionn Carr, were likely to be departing at the end of the season; thirdly, they crash out of the Amlin Cup when losing a dour return leg against Harlequins last Friday night; and, lastly, team captain John Muldoon has suffered a serious arm injury

That’s enough disappointment to deflate the most optimistic Connacht supporters and given that the team is without a competitive victory since mid-October, morale around the Sportsground must be understandably downbeat at present, especially as it has now been confirmed that the three players at the centre of last week’s transfer speculation will be leaving town next May.

Connacht deserve better than this; they deserve a break; but they are just having no luck. True, they remain admirably competitive and are playing with greater ambition under Eric Elwood, but the men in green are just lacking the ruthless streak and inherent belief to close the deal in tight matches.

I was one of the 1500 crowd at the Sportsground last Friday. It was a bitterly cold night and Connacht’s chances of surviving in the Amlin Cup were already in the extremely remote category. In the circumstances, the attendance was more than respectable but, unfortunately, the match fell well below expectations with the half-time score of 15-9 to Harlequins prevailing until the end of a match which produced few moments of enterprise.

Once again, however, it was a game Connacht could have won, notably when prop Ronan Loughney spilled the ball with the line at his mercy in the final quarter. The groans all around the Sportsground told their own story. That was the team’s big chance and even if winning would hardly have made much difference to their chances of reaching the knock-out stages of the Amlin Cup, it would have stopped the results rot.

Like all serious sporting teams, Connacht don’t want charity or to be the recipients of pious platitudes, but they are just down on their luck at present. Talking to Elwood last week, you could sense his frustration with it all. Nobody knows better that the Connacht coach about the work that’s going into the development of the team and the pride the players take in lining out for the province, but sport is a results driven business and Connacht are simply not hacking it in this most important area of all.

The news that Cronin, Carr and Keatley, three of the squad’s higher profile and influential players, are moving away next summer must be particularly demoralising. You can’t blame the individuals concerned for being tempted by better contracts and being involved with better teams, but where will it leave Connacht? – certainly worse off than before the IRFU’s big announcement in early December.

For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.