Connacht v Munster - BKT URC Digital Match Programme

Whether it’s fighting for a win on the pitch or
winning over a customer in the contact centre,
there’s an opportunity to showcase excellence
and create valued experiences. And creating
those experiences with customers is where
Genesys thrives.
Our contact centre cloud technology empowers
customer experience professionals to interact
with their customers on any channel, pulling from
a wealth of data and engaging with
personalisation and empathy. Artificial intelligence
(AI) technology fuels interactions without
complicating them. And cloud innovation ensures
the newest features are readily available.
A winning team and winning technologies are driven
by their competitive advantage as well as their
ability to optimise performance, talents and
expertise. Winning teams deliver when it matters
most because they’re equipped and trained to do so.
With our AI technology office located in Galway,
you don’t need to look far for our connection to
western Ireland and the storied team of
Connacht Rugby. Genesys is thrilled to be a part
of the Connacht Rugby tradition of excellence. As
proud members of the community, as an
employer and as citizens, we look forward to the
coming season and wish this team — and
everyone behind the scenes — good luck!
Every year, Genesys ® orchestrates billions of remarkable customer experiences for
organizations in more than 100 countries. through the power of our cloud, digital and
AI technologies, organizations can realise Experience as a Service SM , our vision for
empathetic customer experiences at scale. With Genesys, organizations have the
power to deliver proactive, predictive, and hyper personalized experiences to deepen
their customer connection across every marketing, sales, and service moment on
any channel, while also improving employee productivity and engagement. By
transforming back-office technology to a modern revenue velocity engine Genesys
enables true intimacy at scale to foster customer trust and loyalty.
OFFICIAL KIT PARTNER
DESIGN YOUR OWN
www.blksport.ie

PRESIDENT’s
WELCOME
THank You To Our Partners for
their continued support
As President of Connacht Rugby
I am delighted to welcome you to
The Sportsground for today’s
BKT United Rugby Championship
interpro with our neighbours
Munster.
If I may begin on a personal note, I am
extremely proud to represent our province
as President for the 2022-23 season. I have
been involved with rugby in Connacht nearly
all my life and it is an immense honour to
hold this role for the season.
Principal Partner
Official Partners
Today is a day we’ve been looking forward
to for a long time. It’s been over 4 months
since the last game at The Sportsground
and there’s been plenty of change in that
time. I was thrilled to see the start of the
historic redevelopment of our famous
ground, with the installation of a new stateof-the-art
synthetic surface which our
players and supporters will get to enjoy for
the first time today. Work continues on the
new floodlight system also which will make
our evening games even more enjoyable for
players and supporters alike. Credit must
go to everyone who helped make it happen,
and this is just the start of a hugely exciting
period as the club gets ready to move into
Phase 2 of the redevelopment project.
I’m sure you’d agree with me when I say
there’s nothing quite like an interpro –
particularly the first of the season. It seems
like there’s nearly always just a score
between Connacht and Munster whenever
the two teams play so I’m sure this evening
will be just as tense. From a Connacht
perspective I’ve seen first-hand the hard
work by the players and management to
get that first win of the season, so fingers
crossed it’ll come today!
At a domestic rugby level it’s been great
to see the resumption of games across our
province in the past month or two. Make no
mistake, Club & Community is and will always
remain the heart and soul of rugby in our
province, and if you are involved with your
local club or school I wish you every success
in the season ahead.
A sincere thank you to everyone who helps
make games like today a reality. There’s
far more to gameday than 30 players and a
referee, because it’s also about the staff and
particularly our numerous volunteers who
give us their time and commitment.
Finally I’d like to welcome our visitors Munster
to The Sportsground, and I wish you a safe
journey back home after the game. We look
forward to returning the favour at Thomond
Park next month.
Connacht Abu!
Padraig Moran
President Connacht Rugby, 2022-23
Irish
Official Suppliers

THE ULTIMATE
TE
URC EXPERIENCE
JOIN
FOR FREE
Personalised team
experience
Exclusive offers
& competitions
Premium opinion
articles & analysis
Match highlights &
exclusive video content

Coach PREVIEW
One of the big frustrations for Connacht
in the opening rounds of the new season
has been the stop start nature in which
the games have took, 36 penalties in total
between Connacht and the Bulls last Friday
is not something anyone wants to see. Andy
gave is thoughts on the issue in the game.
“I think it is an issue because we are seeing
games going on for two hours more and
more regularly now”
“Fans don’t come to watch games for these
large pauses”
“Players and coaches don’t want
these long breaks either and it
disrupts the flow of the game so
much”
“There’s a few things to tidy up
but lets hope this weekend will
be the start of faster games and
quicker decisions”
Coming into Friday’s game the new pitch at
The Sportsground is the big talking point.
The redevelopment of the ground is still
only in the early stages but the new artificial
surface is ready for Friday which Andy can’t
wait for.
“We want to be a team that plays fast and
this surface allows us to do that”
“Its a massive investment by Connacht
Rugby and a brilliant one”
“Lets hope Friday night is the first of many
good wins on it”
This Friday Connacht take on
Munster in the BKT United Rugby
Championship. A first home
game of the season and on the
new artificial surface at The
Sportsground, (k/o 7.35pm).
Last Friday in Pretoria Connacht lost to the
Vodacom Bulls which was their third defeat
in-a-row, all coming away from home. For
Andy Friend and his coaching team Friday’s
Interprovincial-derby is one where a win is
needed to kick start their season.
“We’re positive coming into this game on
Friday but we’re not fools either because
we are very aware we haven’t performed
anywhere near our best” said Friend
“There’s been three losses against three
good teams which is tough but our
performances haven’t been where we need
them to be”
“We’ve all put our hands up saying we need
to be better”
“I see the energy and desire from the boys to
get better, so while there is a disappointment
in how we’ve started there’s real energy there
to write the wrongs”
Munster come to Galway on Friday for what
will be a massive Interprovincial-derby one
which Andy and the squad are excited about.
“You can’t ask for a bigger game, our first
game at home on a brand new pitch in front
of family and friends”
“You have two teams at the moment that are
searching for form”
“We need to be accurate on Friday and show
real fight”
“It will be very emotional no doubt like
derby’s are but I think the team that comes
out on top will be be the ones who front up
and make least mistakes”
The world of rugby will have one
eye down under for upcoming
games in Queensland which will
see new rules trialled out. The
changes aim to increase the
amount of ball-in-play time.
There will be limits on using the
ball in the ruck, setting up for
scrums, penalties, conversions
and restarts to name a few.
It’s an idea Andy likes and is
interested to see how it works.
“I go back to my time with the
7s where there was a shot clock
which was introduced there”
“If you didn’t kick the goal within
a minute you didn’t kick the goal
and the same with restarting”
“When players knew the clock
was on these things were being
done and no issues made”
“Anything that gives more ballin-play
time is a good thing for
the game”

THE 2022/23
CONNACHT RUGBY RANGE
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE
on the pitch and in the
CUSTOMER CONTACT CENTRE.
Just as Connacht Rugby equips its players to win
on the pitch, we equip customer contact centres
to win with their customers. Our AI-fueled, cloud
contact centre technology empowers customer
service professionals to deliver more customer
smiles. To learn more about Genesys or
available careers at Genesys Galway, visit
careers.genesys.com/galway
Shop Now

Player PREVIEW
the pace we want”
As much as the focus will be on the new
artificial playing surface coming into the
game, for the squad all eyes are on Munster
and the job in hand.
“An interpro and first home game of the
season, there’s not much more motivation
needed than that to get the blood pumping”
“We always love playing Munster because
we know this is a battle, we know the
physicality they will bring so we will need to
meet fire with fire”
“These are the games you want to play in”
Interprovincial-derby’s are always special
occasions, every game supporters play
such an important role but when you come
up against provincial neighbours the noise
from the stands and terraces seem to reach
different levels, levels Finlay expects to hear
again this Friday.
“We have the best fans in the world”
“Win, lose or draw they are always there and
they know the hard work we put in”
“For the size of the stadium, sometimes it
does feel like we are playing in front of 50000
because of the noise our fans make”
“We get some amount of energy from the
support, not to have the home support for
the last three weeks in-a-row have been felt
but we can’t wait for Friday”
A new chapter begins this week
for Connacht Rugby with the
first ever game being played
on the new artificial playing
surface at The Sportsground.
A massive Interprovincialderby
against Munster to kick
it all off this Friday in the BKT
United Rugby Championship,
(k/o 7.35pm).
While the opening three rounds of the new
season have been tough, confidence in the
camp is high and the excitment grows as we
get closer to kick-off.
After arriving back from South Africa on
Sunday, Tuesday was the first chance the
players got to test out the new surface.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game
with Munster, Finlay Bealham gave his
thoughts on the new pitch.
“We got a feel of it today and we’re really
excited by it”
“Walking on the pitch for the first time
everyone was buzzing”
“It looks incredible as well”
“I can’t wait and I know the rest of the lads
can’t wait to get out on it Friday”
This Connacht team is one which likes to play
quick attacking rugby so the new pitch should
definitely suit the game they are looking for.
“I’m sure everyone knows that we get a lot of
rain and wind around here so the pitch can
take a bit of a beaten by the time Novembers
comes around, but now with this new pitch
we can play our brand of rugby all year round
which is great”
“We have great footballers in the squad, real
natural footballers as well I’d say so we can’t
wait to get more hands on the ball and play at

Pro team PROFILES
bundee
aki
Centre
jack
aungier
Prop
finlay
bealham
Prop
Caolin
blade
Scrum Half
shayne
bolton
Centre
Ciaran
Booth
Back Row
Paul
Boyle
Back Row
denis
buckley
Prop
matthew
burke
Prop
Our ambition makes us
A beat ahead
Jarrad
Butler
Back Row
Adam
Byrne
Back Three
jack
Carty
Out Half
tom
daly
Centre
shane
delahunt
Hooker
Peter
Dooley
Prop
oisin
dowling
Back Row
jordan
duggan
Prop
Tom
Farrell
Centre
layahealthcare.ie

WIIINGS
FOR
EVERY
TASTE.
Pro team PROFILES
Leva
Fifita
Second Row
mack
hansen
Out Half / Back
Three
Conor
Fitzgerald
Out Half
david
hackshaw
Out Half
cathal
forde
Out Half /
Centre
dave
heffernan
Hooker
SHAMUS HURLEY-
LANGTON
Back Row
sam
illo
Prop
Shane
Jennings
Centre
Diarmuid
Kilgallen
Back Three
kieran
marmion
Scrum Half
Sean
Masterson
Back Row
oisin
mccormack
Back Row
Oran
Mcnulty
Back Three
Josh
Murphy
Back Row
DarragH
Murray
Second Row
Niall
Murray
Second Row
Tiernan
O’Halloran
Back Three

Pro team PROFILES
Conor
Oliver
Back Row
John
Porch
Back Three
Cian
Prendergast
Back Row
Celebrating 70 Years
of Excellence in
Engineering
Byron
Ralston
Out Half / Back
Three
Colm
Reilly
Scrum Half
Dominic
Robertson-
Mccoy
Prop
Building & Infrastructure
Civil | Design Build | Water
Grant
Stewart
Scrum Half
Gavin
Thornbury
Second Row
Dylan
Tierney-Martin
Hooker
Environment & Planning
Roads & Transportation
Alex
Wootton
Back Three
Galway | Dublin | Castlebar | Limerick
www.tobin.ie

*Restrictions apply.
*

Proud sponsors of
www.chgl.ie
We’ve got Galway covered! | Tá Gaillimh clúdaithe againn!

Pro team MANAGEMENT
ACADEMY MANAGEMENT
Tim
Allnutt
Director of
Rugby
Operations
Andy
Friend
Director of
Rugby
Pete
Wilkins
Head Coach
Eric
Elwood
Academy
Manager
ANdrew
Browne
Elite Player
Development
Officer
Mark
Sexton
Elite Player
Development
Officer
Dewald
Senekal
Forwards
Coach
Colm
TuckeR
Scrum &
Contact Coach
Mossy
LawlEr
Attack & Skills
Coach
Mervyn
Murphy
Provincial Talent
Coach
Sebastian
Delport
Provincial Talent
Coach
Andrew
Murphy
Head of Athletic
Development
Simon
Kavanagh
Senior
Video Analyst
Mikey
KIELY
Head of Athletic
Performance
David
Hanly
Head of
Physiotherapy
Mark
Gallagher
Lead
Physiotherapist
Alan
Doonan
Performance
Analyst
Emma
Brennan
Performance
Nutritionist
Martin
Joyce
Logistics
Manager
Gavin
Rackard
Performance
Nutritionist
Johnny
O’Connor
Senior S&C
Coach
Micheal
Devane
S&C
Coach
Evan
Fitzgerald
Physiotherapist
Deirdre
Lyons
Player
Development
Manager
Barry
O’Brien
S&C
Coach
Oisin
O’Dalaigh
Asst.
Performance
Analyst
Colin
Nash
Physiotherapist
Aidan
O’Flynn
Personal
Development
Chloe
Mccrann
Rugby
Operations
Executive
Stephen
Long
Communications
Manager
Deirdre
Lyons
Player
Development
Manager
Chloe
Mccrann
Rugby
Operations
Executive

Connacht rugby
business club
WHAT IS IT?
ACADEMY PROFILES
donnacha
Byrne
Back Row
Eoin
De Buitlear
Hooker
John
Devine
Centre
●
●
An exclusive members-only group
consisting of some of Ireland's most
progressive and proactive businesses.
A great way for your business to engage
and support Connacht Rugby in an official
capacity.
Matthew
Devine
Scrum Half
John
Forde
Back Row
Hubert
Gilvarry
Scrum Half
●
An excellent package with opportunities
for you to host customers, impress
prospects or reward staff in a unique and
unforgettable way.
Daniel
Hackshaw
Centre
Shane
Mallon
Centre
Oisin
Michel
Prop
●
It offers exceptional value to members,
with regular opportunities to network and
build key relationships with like-minded
senior business people in a unique
premium environment.
Josh
O’Connor
Back Three
Will
Reilly
Scrum Half
Bart
Vermeulen
Prop
Our business club members
Charlie
ward
Prop
Harry
West
Out Half

THE HOME OF THE
RUGBY WORLD CUP
IN IRELAND
Legal Insight
Human Intelligence
Business Impact
ALL 48 games LIVE on
RDJ.IE CORK DUBLIN GALWAY LONDON

30 s
at citylink.ie
TRACK MY BUS WIFI TOILETS PLUGS AIR CON
4 CONNACHT RUGBY

Reduce your home energy
consumption with solar.
Our range of Solar PV panels, batteries and hot water diverters means
we’ve something to suit every home. Solar battery storage means that
energy generated by Solar PV panels during the day isn’t wasted, as it
is stored to power your home in the evening and overnight.
Choose from a solar add-on to maximise your home
energy efficiency:
A hot water diverter to heat your hot water
Battery storage to store any excess electricity your panels
generate. If you export this excess electricity back to the grid
you could be eligible for a payment through the Clean Export
Guarantee (CEG) scheme.
energia.ie/cosy-homes/solar