The Connacht Clan Newletter - 20th October 2011

Hello Connacht Clan Members,
This email is just a quick couple of updates from the official supporters club from the last few weeks.

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Connacht Clan trip to Leinster

 They stole the game... we stole their penant!

The first Connacht Clan RaboDirectPro12 excursion took place for our game in the RDS. The early start for Ireland's World Cup 1/4 final was doubtless a consideration for many fans as a late return to Galway that night limited our numbers somewhat. Yet an enthusiastic group assembled in Busker Brownes and the bus was nearly full of both old friends and some new faces, as a proper away adventure should be.
The Connacht Clan is learning as we go. One lesson learned from this journey is that a comfort stop at Enfield services station is a must. Having passed this the town of Kilcock was ne'er so welcome a sight for me! I suspect I was not alone. After a short break with thankfully light Dublin traffic we reached the drop-zone in Ballsbridge, joining other Connacht fans in the nominated mustering point in Bellamy's. Whispers of "we can win this" were being cautiously made and it is fair to say that, by and large we were in confident mood.
I'll leave the game review to the professional journo's as I take it you saw what took place. Disappointed - certainly. Afterward we honoured an invitation from our Eastern counterparts in the Laighn Out, the bar of the Official Leinster Supporters' Club. The OLSC have been very supportive sharing the wisdom of their experience in setting up a supporters' club. Their club president Jarrod presented us with a pennant to mark the occasion and our respective fans parted looking forward to meeting again in December, though some Leinster fans may try to join us for our Heineken Cup games. Overall it was a long and disappointing day for a wearer of the green but our trip went well I believe. Returning with a full compliment is always a good thing on these days out! So now we look forward to the Cardiif Blues' visit. Here's to a great match.

Leighton Turner,
President,
Connacht Clan
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." target="_blank">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Connacht Clan Meeting - 17th October 2011

A number of issues were raised regarding the lack of initiatives to make our members feel as though they were part of the Connacht Clan. In other words, we were not reaching out enough, and not giving you guys and gals enough information. This is the start of steps being taken to redress that problem, and we plan on keeping everyone "in the loop" as to our plans, our setbacks and our successes. The main points of the meeting were as follows:

• Martin Fallon spoke on behalf of the Connacht Branch and asked the Connacht Clan to come up with proposals on how to increase the activity of the Clan province-wide and how to make the every supporter in the province feel part of the Clan.
• He also briefed the committee on the idea of the Green Mile
• The Committee spoke about the Leinster trip and lessons were learned for future trips.
• It was decided not to run a bus to Ulster due to lack of interest and duration of journey.
• Fergus Farrell outlined that 20 people had withdrawn from the Bus to Harlequins and it has been decided that the trip must be cancelled. If you are planning on going please visit the forum page to discuss plans, choose your seats and organise meet ups.
• The committee agreed to help the Connacht Branch in the erection of collateral around the Green Mile
• The Clan has decided to try and organise a Player Forum for after the Ospreys game and Martin is to liaise with Tim Allnutt and the squad.
• It was also decided that the next away trip will be to Limerick on St. Stephen's day and the Clan was to publicise this better themselves with the help of the branch.
• A Christmas party idea was proposed for after the Leinster Game on New Years Day.
• Shane Murphy also raised the idea of a possible golf outing at the end of the year.
• The next meeting will be subject to Simon Heaslip's schedule as he is to present the Green Mile to the Committee.
• Connacht Clan pins have been sent out to our Connacht Clan non-Season Ticket Holders today.

The Green Mile is planned to be something of a Connacht Supporters zone for the visit of Toulouse, with lots of flags, buntings etc... We don't really have much information about it at this point, but we are meeting with Simon Heaslip next week to sort out the details. We are already volunteering to help turn Connacht green for the weekend, and any volunteers would be very welcome indeed. If you want to discuss the meeting and give us your penny's worth then please pop on over to the Connacht Clan Forum Page.

Connacht Supporter's Scarves and Pin Badges

The Connacht Clan supporter's scarves, which are exclusive to Season Ticket Holder members of the supporter's club, will be available for collection at either the Cardiff Blues game on the 29th of October or at the Ospreys game on the 26th of November. You can also pick them up in between those matches by calling into the branch. You will have to have your season ticket with you to receive your scarf.
For the non-Season Ticket Holder members of the Connacht Clan, we have sent out your exclusive Connacht Supporters Club pins, and a (very belated) welcome letter. We sent them on Tuesday the 18th October, so depending on your locality (Sarajevo to Salt Lake City) it'll take varying time to wing its way to you. Apologies for the delay but somehow licking stamps and addressing envelopes seemed to get put on the long finger.

Clubs Night for Cardiff Blues

The Cardiff Blues match will be the first Connacht Rugby Clubs Night, organised by the Connacht Clan, bringing all of the rugby clubs of Connacht to the Sportsground for the night. If you are playing for your local club and would like to come along, check to see if there is a bus already organised. If not send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.?subject=ClubsNight" target="_blank">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and let us know that you'd fancy it.

Website, Forum and Email

The Connacht Clan open for business. If you guys have any ideas, any qualms, worries or woes, then please send us an email, or pop onto our forum. They are checked by all the committee members so your query should be addressed in a timely manner (maybe not the day after a match though!). The website is http://www.connachtclan.com, and the forum is http://www.connachtclan.com/forum. The email address to use is (as above) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." target="_blank">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Well that's all for this week. Hopefully we'll have an update soon on what the plans are for the Toulouse match.

Connacht Abú,

Dennis.