Big Season, back in the Champions Cup for Connacht and here's the thread to discuss the personell changes for the year ahead.
Some big names paired up with Connacht in our return to the top table of European Rugby, with the four teams winning a combined 12 Champions Cups between them (Toulouse half of the total)
Connacht 2026/27 Champions Cup Fixture Schedule
Round Date Matchup Venue Kick-off Time (BST/Irish Time)
Round 1 Saturday 17 October 2026 Connacht v Saracens Dexcom Stadium, Galway 17:30
Round 2 Sunday 13 December 2026 Exeter Chiefs v Connacht Sandy Park, Exeter 13:00
Round 3 Saturday 9 January 2027 Connacht v Toulouse Dexcom Stadium, Galway 20:00
Round 4 Saturday 16 January 2027 La Rochelle v Connacht Stade Marcel Deflandre 17:30
The Squad for 2026/27 as it currently stands...
Connacht Rugby 2026/27 Senior Men's Squad List
Position: Players
Props: Finlay Bealham, Francois Van Wyk, Sam Illo, Jordan Duggan, Thomas Connolly, Fiachna Barrett, Billy Bohan, Jerry Cahir
Hookers: Dave Heffernan, Dylan Tierney-Martin, Eoin de Buitlear, Matthew Victory
Locks: Niall Murray, Darragh Murray, Josh Murphy, David O'Connor
Back Row: Cian Prendergast, Sean Jansen, Paul Boyle, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Sean O'Brien, Will Connors
Scrum-Halves: Caolin Blade, Ben Murphy, Colm Reilly
Out-Halves: Ciarán Frawley, Josh Ioane, Sean Naughton
Centres: Bundee Aki, Cathal Forde, Byron Ralston, Hugh Gavin, John Devine
Back Three: Mack Hansen, Shayne Bolton, Shane Jennings, Finn Treacy, Harry West, Sam Gilbert,
Test players in Bold.
New Recruits in Italic
We've also seen a very significant year in terms of departures, as a lot of experience leaves the building.
Players departing from Season 2025/26
PositionPlayer
Props: Denis Buckley, Peter Dooley, Jack Aungier, Temi Lasisi
Locks: Joe Joyce, Oisín Dowling
Back Row: Oisín McCormack
Scrum-Halves: Matthew Devine
Fly-Halves / Utility Backs: Jack Carty, David Hawkshaw
Back Three: Chay Mullins
Where do you think we're at, recruitment wise?
Personally I think we're glaringly short in one or two positions. Tight Head lock is a glaring gap, we badly need a new Quinn Roux (heck even the old Quinn Roux woudl do for now while we're sourcing the new one). You won't survive against the big French clubs with Hyrbid locks in your 2nd row, and 2/4 options are just that (it also seriously compromises lineout).
The other major gap (for me) is Flyhalf, I've said it all along that Frawley for me is a very good centre who wants to play ten. For me he has deficiencies that he's not going to resolve at his age (29 in December) that mean he will never be a success at ten, tactical kicking being the most glaringly obvious. We're lucky that we have young Naughton who shows genuine promise (absolutely outstanding against Munster last term), but we need another real ten option to back up Josh & Sean.
The biggest surprise in terms of departure is probably Mullins, but there's a lot of competion for back three slots when everyone is fit, with the likes of Dan Ryan in the Academy grabbing attention too .Same goes for Hawkshaw, We're at a place (not a bad one to be at in truth) where if you don't have Test Player in your Bio or show real potential to be one, being good or commited isn't enough any more.
Sad to see all these players go, especially those who are at career end.
For the rest, if you're a Professional (or any) Rugby Player, you need to be playing Rugby, regularly to sustain from and match fitness.
Anyways, stick your thoughts above or below (depending how the forum is setup in your browser).....
