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THERE'S<br />
STRENGTH IN BELIEF<br />
ENGINEERED PERFORMANCE CRAFTED FOR SPORT ISSUED TO THE ATHLETE ENGINEERED PERFORMANCE CRAFTED FOR SPORT<br />
DESIGN YOUR OWN<br />
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16 TEAMS,<br />
2 HEMISPHERES,<br />
1 LEAGUE<br />
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PRESIDENT’s<br />
WELCOME<br />
THank You To Our Partners for<br />
their continued support<br />
As President of <strong>Connacht</strong><br />
Rugby I am delighted<br />
to welcome you to The<br />
Sportsground for today’s<br />
United Rugby Championship<br />
fixture with the <strong>Dragons</strong>.<br />
Last week was a momentous occasion for<br />
a number of reasons. There was a lot of<br />
hype and anticipation around our first Pro<br />
competitive fixture in front of supporters<br />
for over a year, and I think it’s fair to say<br />
the players delivered in spades! Their<br />
performance and result against the Bulls<br />
was a joy to watch and, like you, I’m so<br />
excited to see this team continue to grow<br />
and go from strength to strength in the<br />
season ahead.<br />
For today I’m sure the coaches and<br />
squad will be very keen to keep that run<br />
going, albeit against a tough <strong>Dragons</strong><br />
outfit. They are regular visitors to The<br />
Sportsground and will be very keen to get<br />
their first win of the season after running<br />
Leinster close last week, so we’ll need the<br />
Clan Stand and all four corners of The<br />
Sportsground to be in full voice again.<br />
Games like today don’t just happen<br />
overnight. It requires trojan work from the<br />
entire <strong>Connacht</strong> Rugby staff – from the<br />
Operations and Commercial & Marketing<br />
teams right down to grassroots level. I<br />
know they have worked extremely hard to<br />
make today a reality and I’m sure you’ll all<br />
join me in thanking them for their efforts.<br />
Outside the Pro world things are also<br />
getting back to normal on the Club &<br />
Community scene. We have club and<br />
school players returning to training<br />
and most recently the completion of<br />
the <strong>Connacht</strong> Senior League – another<br />
milestone we should all acknowledge. This<br />
2021/22 season will be a year of making up<br />
for lost time and I’d encourage everyone,<br />
whether you are a player, coach or<br />
volunteer, to enjoy every moment of it.<br />
Finally I hope you enjoy today’s game and I<br />
look forward to meeting as many of you as<br />
possible in the weeks and months ahead.<br />
<strong>Connacht</strong> Abu!<br />
Ann Heneghan<br />
President, <strong>Connacht</strong> Rugby<br />
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gilbertrugby.com<br />
GUINNESS PRO14 CAMPAIGN TO CONCLUDE IN<br />
MARCH AHEAD OF NEW “RAINBOW CUP” WITH<br />
SOUTH AFRICA’S TOP FOUR ‘SUPER’ TEAMS<br />
The current Guinness PRO14 campaign will<br />
end in March allowing South Africa’s four<br />
‘Super’ teams and our existing clubs to<br />
finish the season with a 16-team “Rainbow<br />
Cup” competition ahead of the British &<br />
Irish Lions tour.<br />
• The 2020/21 Guinness PRO14 campaign will finish after 16<br />
rounds with the Conference winners facing each other in a<br />
final in late March<br />
• Qualification for EPCR tournaments in 2021/22 will be<br />
decided by rankings after Round 16<br />
• On April 17, 2021, the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup will<br />
kick-off and introduce the Vodacom Bulls, Emirates Lions,<br />
Cell C Sharks and DHL Stormers and their World Cupwinning<br />
Springboks<br />
• The Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup will consist of a pool<br />
stage (two pools of eight teams) and a final between the<br />
two pool winners<br />
FINAL CHAPTER OF GUINNESS PRO14<br />
fixture list will aim to ensure home and away in-conference<br />
fixtures are completed and each team plays all of its<br />
cross-conference matches also. Further clarification will be<br />
available when fixtures are confirmed.<br />
The scheduled dates for the conclusion of the 2020-21<br />
Guinness PRO14 campaign are:<br />
R12: February 20<br />
R13: February 27<br />
R14: March 6<br />
R15: March 13<br />
R16: March 20<br />
Final: March 27<br />
After consulting with key PRO14 stakeholders, the Guinness<br />
PRO14 Rainbow Cup was chosen as the best pathway to<br />
finish up the current campaign and introduce South Africa’s<br />
THE<br />
four ‘Super’ teams: the Vodacom SPIRIT<br />
Bulls; Emirates Lions; Cell<br />
OF<br />
C Sharks and DHL Stormers. This decision also allows our<br />
European-based sides to earn qualification for European<br />
Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) tournaments in 2021/22 in<br />
a fair and equitable manner.<br />
Ahead of the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa,<br />
the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup will provide a ground-<br />
Once Round 16 has been completed, the top-ranked teams<br />
from each conference will qualify for the 2021/22 Heineken<br />
Champions Cup. Requirement for play-offs is under review.<br />
UNITED RUGBY<br />
GUINNESS PRO14 “RAINBOW CUP”<br />
breaking spectacle for fans who will see international star FORGING NEW RIVALRIES<br />
players from north and south establish new rivalries in their<br />
bid for the ultimate Test selection.<br />
With South Africa preparing to host their first British & Irish<br />
Lions tour since 2009, the World Cup champions will see<br />
Right through until the last kick of the ball in the Rainbow their ‘Super’ teams – the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers<br />
Cup in June, fans will be able to watch it all unfold with our take on the very best that Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales<br />
CHAMPIONSHIP.<br />
broadcast partners Premier Sports, eir Sport, S4C, TG4,<br />
have to offer.<br />
DAZN and Super Sport.<br />
How it will Work<br />
Players aiming to make the British & Irish Lions squad will<br />
find no better trial environment to test themselves in, as<br />
they go up against the likes of Siya Kolisi, Pieter Steph du<br />
Toit (both DHL Stormers), Duane Vermeulen (Vodacom<br />
Bulls), Elton Jantjies (Emirates Lions) and former Guinness<br />
PRO14 top-try scorer Makazole Mapimipi (Cell C Sharks).<br />
The Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup will kick off on April 17<br />
with two pools of 8 teams made up of two Irish, two South<br />
African, two Welsh, one Italian and one Scottish club. Each<br />
team will play one game against each pool opponent and<br />
the sides that finish top of their pools will face off in a final<br />
on June 19.<br />
Across 57 matches, the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup will<br />
feature the best of the Springbok talent going toe-to-toe<br />
with some of the British & Irish Lions’ biggest names – every<br />
one of them keen to lay down a marker to their respective<br />
selectors ahead of what will prove to an historic tour.<br />
Enjoy responsibly<br />
The oval trim design is a registered trademark of Gilbert Rugby.<br />
Rounds 12 to 16 will take place from February 20 and<br />
conclude on March 20. A final will then take place at the<br />
home venue of the highest-ranked team. This abbreviated<br />
DISCOVER THE SPIRIT WITHIN |<br />
#SAVOURTHEMOMENT
Pro team PROFILES<br />
bundee<br />
aki<br />
Centre<br />
sammy<br />
arnold<br />
Centre<br />
jack<br />
aungier<br />
Prop<br />
finlay<br />
bealham<br />
Prop<br />
Caolin<br />
blade<br />
Scrum Half<br />
shayne<br />
bolton<br />
Centre<br />
Paul<br />
Boyle<br />
Back Row<br />
denis<br />
buckley<br />
Prop<br />
matthew<br />
burke<br />
Prop<br />
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Jarrad<br />
Butler<br />
Back Row<br />
jack<br />
Carty<br />
Out Half<br />
tom<br />
daly<br />
Centre<br />
shane<br />
delahunt<br />
Hooker<br />
Ultan<br />
Dillane<br />
Second Row<br />
oisin<br />
dowling<br />
Back Row<br />
jordan<br />
duggan<br />
Prop<br />
Tom<br />
Farrell<br />
Centre<br />
Leva<br />
Fifita<br />
Second Row
Pro team PROFILES<br />
Conor<br />
Fitzgerald<br />
Out Half<br />
mack<br />
hansen<br />
Out Half / Back<br />
Three<br />
Matt<br />
healy<br />
Back Three<br />
dave<br />
heffernan<br />
Hooker<br />
sam<br />
illo<br />
Prop<br />
kieran<br />
marmion<br />
Scrum Half<br />
eoghan<br />
Masterson<br />
Back Row<br />
Sean<br />
Masterson<br />
Back Row<br />
greg<br />
Mcgrath<br />
Prop<br />
Oran<br />
Mcnulty<br />
Back Three<br />
Jonny<br />
Murphy<br />
Hooker<br />
Niall<br />
Murray<br />
Second Row<br />
Ben<br />
O’Donnell<br />
Back Three<br />
Tiernan<br />
O’Halloran<br />
Back Three<br />
Conor<br />
Oliver<br />
Back Row<br />
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Back Three<br />
Cian<br />
Prendergast<br />
Back Row
Pro team PROFILES<br />
Colm<br />
reilly<br />
Scrum Half<br />
peter<br />
robb<br />
Centre<br />
Dominic<br />
Robertson-<br />
Mccoy<br />
Prop<br />
Peter<br />
Sullivan<br />
Back Three<br />
Gavin<br />
Thornbury<br />
Second Row<br />
Dylan<br />
Tierney-Martin<br />
Hooker<br />
Alex<br />
Wootton<br />
Back Three<br />
20 CONNACHT RUGBY
4 CONNACHT RUGBY
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