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PRESIDENT’s
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Good evening,
As President of Connacht Rugby, I am
delighted to write to you this evening on
what is a truly momentous day for the
province.
Before I discuss the big news of the
day, I’d first like to welcome our visitors
Bristol Bears to the Dexcom Stadium
for tonight’s vital Investec Champions
Cup clash. There are plenty of familiar
faces on both sides this evening, so I’m
sure you’ll join me in welcoming Pat Lam,
Kieran Marmion, AJ MacGinty and all the
squad and management back to Galway,
and that you have a safe trip home
afterwards.
Today is a day we have looked forward
to for nearly 10 years. This morning
at 7am, the province confirmed that
the construction of our redeveloped
stadium, consisting of a high
performance centre and fit-for-purpose,
modern North Stand will begin in just
2 months’ time. Firstly with the HPC in
March, and then the North Stand in the
summer when the Clubhouse and our
beloved Clan Stand will be demolished
for bigger and better things.
I had the opportunity to view the plans
during the week and they would take
your breath away. When you think about
where Connacht Rugby has come from,
and what the plans are for the future, it
says a lot about the work and dedication
of every rugby man and woman in the
province to make this a reality.
A huge amount of gratitude must be
paid to the leadership team at Connacht
Rugby, in particular CEO Willie Ruane
and Director of Development Karl Boyle,
who have been the driving forces behind
this project.
Also to the board of both Connacht Rugby
and Connacht Rugby Stadium Limited, a
thank you for their guidance and expertise
on all stages of the project.
A key enabler of this redevelopment is of
course our new naming rights partners,
Dexcom Inc. We truly believe that with
Dexcom, we have the perfect partners for
the next 12 years for both organisations
to thrive and grow. Dexcom, with their
new plant in Athenry, have invested an
incredible amount to the West of Ireland
with the creation of 1,000 new jobs. This
is a wonderful seal of approval on what
we can achieve in this part of the world,
and I sincerely thank Barry Regan, Adrian
Furey and all the team at Dexcom in
their investment in both Connacht and
Connacht Rugby.
Finally I hope everyone in attendance
enjoys the game – our first at our newly
renamed Dexcom Stadium!
Connacht Abú
Michael O’Hehir
Connacht Rugby President, 2023/24

A warm welcome to this Round 3/
Round 4 match in the 2023/24
Investec Champions Cup and
a Happy New Year to all as we
reach the business end of the
tournament’s pool stage.
Complementing the landmark
introduction of Investec as the
competition’s new title partner,
the opening rounds delivered a
compelling series of world-class and
indeed out of the ordinary matches.
Now the intensity goes up another
notch with coveted places in the
knockout stage at stake.
7 NATIONS
24 CLUBS
63 MATCHES
400 TRIES
ONE TROPHY
THE ONE TO
W N
With the top four clubs in each pool
guaranteed qualification, there’s an
important added incentive for the
contenders: the clubs finishing first
and second in their respective pools
will have home venue advantage in
the all-important first knockout
stage, the Round of 16. For those
clubs that finish fifth in each pool,
the journey does not end there as
they qualify for the Round of 16 of
the EPCR Challenge Cup.
Everything is to play for.
So, after what promises to be even
more tension-fuelled action this
month, we’ll have a clearer idea of
the pathway to the showpiece Finals
weekend at London’s state-of-theart
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next
May for which over 45,000 tickets
have already been sold.
We are delighted to be joined on the
journey to London by Investec, by
our premium partner, Heineken, and
by our official partners, DHL, IHG
Hotels & Resorts and Georgia Rugby
Marketing Hub, as well as our official
supporters,
Tissot, Gilbert and Kappa, and also
by our official airline partner in South
Africa, Qatar Airways.
TNT Sports, ITV and RTÉ in the UK
and Ireland, beIN SPORTS and France
Télévisions in France, and SuperSport
in South Africa, continue to provide
comprehensive and innovative
broadcast coverage, while S4C in
Wales and FloRugby in the USA and
Canada, are showcasing the matches
to more viewers than ever across the
globe.
We hope that you enjoy the match
today and take this opportunity to
send our best wishes to you, the fans,
your club’s players and staff, and of
course to our match officials, as we
anticipate the celebrations and the
occasional heartache that go with the
territory when qualification for the
Investec Champions Cup knockout
stage is on the line!
Yours in rugby,
Dominic McKay,
EPCR Chairman
InvestecChampionsCup.com

THank You To Our Partners for
their continued support
Stadium Partner
Principal Partner
Official Partners
Official Suppliers
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DEXCOM STADIUM
Connacht Rugby and Dexcom Inc.
are today delighted to announce a
historic naming rights partnership
for The Sportsground, ahead of the
commencement of the next phase of
the stadium redevelopment in March.
As part of a 12-year agreement
between the two organisations, The
Sportsground will become known
as ‘Dexcom Stadium’ effective
immediately. This announcement
comes on the day Dexcom break
ground on their major manufacturing
facility in Athenry – their first in
Europe - with the creation of over
1000 jobs for the province.
Connacht Rugby are also excited to
announce that construction on our
new High-Performance Centre (HPC)
and North Stand will both begin in the
coming months. Works on the HPC
will begin in March with works on the
North Stand following at the end of
this current season.
The new Connacht Rugby HPC is
expected to be completed by March
2025 and will provide all Connacht
Rugby representative teams with
world-class facilities to enable them to
fulfil their potential and perform at the
highest level.
The new North Stand will then replace
the existing Clan Terrace and will feature
state-of-the-art facilities for all match
attendees including our supporters,
partners, players, officials, media and
volunteers. Construction will begin
this summer after the demolition of
the Clan Terrace and Clubhouse, and
is expected to be completed during
the 2025/26 season.
Dexcom Stadium will therefore
operate at a reduced capacity for
the 2024/25 season, with further
information to follow for Season
Tickets holders in the coming weeks.
Construction of the next two phases
of the project will be undertaken by
Conack Construction who have been
appointed following an extensive
tender process.
Naming rights partner Dexcom Inc.
is a world-leader in producing and
distributing continuous glucose
monitoring (CGM) systems for the
management of diabetes.
Founded in 1999, Dexcom employs over
9,000 people globally and are based
in San Diego, with manufacturing
facilities in Arizona and Malaysia. Their
new facility in Athenry will create over
1000 local jobs – many at graduate
level – in a significant economic boost
for the West of Ireland.
Willie Ruane, CEO of Connacht Rugby
says:
“We are thrilled to share today’s
two pieces of significant news for
Connacht Rugby.
Firstly, a naming rights partner is
absolutely critical to the delivery
of our vision to redevelop the
Sportsground into a fit-for-purpose
modern stadium, and in Dexcom we
have found the perfect partners in
helping to make that vision a reality.
Dexcom’s commitment to the West
of Ireland, through the creation of
over 1,000 jobs in Athenry speaks
volumes of their eagerness to invest
in this part of the world, and we look
forward to working together well into
the future.
Secondly, we are delighted to update
our many supporters about the next
steps in our stadium redevelopment.
and after a lot of work behind the
scenes we are now ready to proceed
with the next steps in bringing the
new Dexcom Stadium to life.”
Barry Regan, Executive Vice-President
of Operations at Dexcom says:
“Connacht Rugby is a fantastic
regional success story, its ambition,
high-performance standards and its
values are very attractive to us. We
see this partnership having a great
alignment with our goals of inspiring
people with diabetes, including those
who currently play sports, want
to pursue sports, or participate in
physical activities, to not let diabetes
hold them back. It is also a way for
us to demonstrate our commitment
to becoming part of the economic
success of Ireland’s Western region,
as a whole. We are coming into Athenry
and looking to attract a workforce
from across the region. To that end
I’m also delighted to be here today
to mark the start of construction of
what will be our first manufacturing
site in Europe.”

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Player PREVIEW
club or friends there’s a bit more to the
week regards that individual and how
they are feeling”
“I’ve played against friends before and
once you cross that white line its just
business”
“He’s a Bristol lad and spent such a long
time at that club”
“It might be a weird feeling for him
waking up that morning but you know
come kick off Joe he will be ready to
give another massive performance like
he has all season”
Both teams will be looking to end the
Pool stages on a high and Finlay expects
a tough eighty minutes ahead.
“We know Bristol are a very dangerous
side”
“They’ve got plenty of quality players”
Champions Cup, Friday night under
lights in Galway is the place to be
when Bristol Bears come to town for
the final game of the Pool stages.
Kick off on Friday is 8pm.
When the Pools where drawn and the
fixtures confirmed this was a game
both clubs would be looking forward
to with the familiarity between
coaches and player. The English side
are coached by former Connacht
Head Coach and the man who led
the province to Pro12 glory back in
2016, Pat Lam. Their squad see’s a
few familar faces as well such as AJ
MacGinty, Jake Heenan and Kieran
Marmion.
For Connacht, Joe Joyce is a Bristolian
having played with the Bears for over
ten years while John Muldoon began his
professional coaching career with the
English side.
Speaking ahead of the game to the media
was prop forward Finlay Bealham, he was
asked about Big Joe (Joyce) and how he
might be feeling leading up to Friday.
“I think Joe and Mul are both very excited
about this game on Friday”
“Any time you come up against a former
Making his first return to Galway after
leaving last summer is Kieran Marmion.
The scrum half played over 200 times
for the Connacht and is a very close
friend to Finlay.
“Me and Kieran would be really good
mates”
“He was a groomsman at my wedding
so we’ll definitely catch up after the
game and on Saturday”
“We let our supporters down the last time
out at home in the champions Cup so we
want to put in a massive performance for
them more than anything”
“The last game here in Galway the weather
was awful but those fans were incredible”
“The rain was coming down hard that
night but you could still hear them”

Pro team PROFILES
bundee
aki
Centre
jack
aungier
Prop
finlay
bealham
Prop
Caolin
blade
Scrum Half
shayne
bolton
Back Three
Paul
boyle
Back Row
denis
buckley
Prop
Eoin
de buitlear
Hooker
matthew
burke
Prop
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santiago
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tom
farrell
Centre
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Pro team PROFILES
jj
hanrahan
Out Half
mack
hansen
Back Three
David
hawkshaw
Out Half /
Centre
dave
heffernan
Hooker
SHAMUS
HURLEY-
LANGTON
Back Row
sam
illo
Prop
sean
jansen
Back Row
shane
jennings
Centre/
Back Three
Joe
joyce
Second Row
Diarmuid
Kilgallen
Back Three
oisin
mccormack
Back Row
Michael
Mcdonald
Scrum Half
Tadhg
mcelroy
Hooker
Liam
Mcnamara
Back Three
oran
mcnulty
Back Three
DarragH
Murray
Second Row
Niall
Murray
Second Row
SEAN
O’BRIEN
Back Row

Pro team PROFILES
tiernan
o’halloran
Back Three
conor
oliver
Back Row
john
porch
Back Three
Cian
prendergast
Back Row
Byron
Ralston
Centre/Back
Three
Colm
Reilly
Scrum Half
Building &
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Civil | Design Build |
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Dominic
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Prop
ANDREW
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Back Three
Gavin
Thornbury
Second Row
Dylan
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Hooker
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Pro team MANAGEMENT
ACADEMY MANAGEMENT
Tim
Allnutt
Director of
Rugby
Operations
pete
wilkins
Head Coach
Colm
tucker
Scrum &
Contact Coach
Eric
Elwood
Academy
Manager
ANdrew
Browne
Elite Player
Development
Officer
MORGAN
Codyre
Elite Player
Development
Officer
JOHN
MULDOON
Lineout &
Maul Coach
Mark
sexton
Assistant Attack
& Skills Coach
Scott
Fardy
Defence
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
niall
brady
Performance
Nutritionist
Martin
Joyce
Logistics
Manager
Gavin
Rackard
Performance
Nutritionist
Barry
o’BRIEN
Senior S&C
Coach
Micheal
Devane
S&C
Coach
lARISSA
MULDOON
Female
Provincial
Talent Coach
ANN
CAFFREY
Female Athletic
Development
Coach
michael
o’driscoll
S&C
Coach
Oisin
O’Dalaigh
Asst.
Performance
Analyst
Kevin
O’Brien
Physiotherapist
Aidan
O’Flynn
Personal
Development
Chloe
Mccrann
Rugby
Operations
Executive
Deirdre
Lyons
Player
Development
Manager
mitchell
ward
Physiotherapist
Stephen
Long
Communications
Manager
deirdre
lyons
Player
Development
Manager

ACADEMY PROFILES
fiachna
barrett
Prop
john
devine
Centre
Matthew
devine
Scrum Half
Connacht rugby
business club
hugh
gavin
Centre
daniel
hawkshaw
Centre
shane
mallon
Back Three
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cLUB & COMMUNITY
U18.5 Boys’ Division 2 League Final. This
is sure to be a hotly contested game
with two incredibly strong sides battling
it out. Like the U16 Girls’ League Final
teams, both Ballinasloe and Carrickon-Shannon
have had clean records
and decisive wins this season. Carrickon-Shannon’s
team are no strangers
to League finals as their U17 team made
it to the U17 Division 2 League Final last
year against Castlebar.
This season, their only loss in the league
was to Ballinasloe where they lost 26-19
at home in round 6 of the competition –
both teams’ closest games in the league.
Ballinasloe faced a strong Loughrea
RFC side in their home semi-final where
they came away with a 24-12 win, while
Carrick-on-Shannon breezed into the
final with a 36-5 semi-final win against
Westport RFC at home. The Bank of
Ireland U18.5 Boys’ Division 2 League
Final is at 1:00 PM on Sun, 21st January
in Dexcom Stadium.
Fans are encouraged to buy their tickets
in advance as all 2024 finals will be
cashless.
This Sunday, 21st January marks the
first day of the Bank of Ireland Club
and Schools finals in Dexcom Stadium
with a double-header that’s not to
be missed. The U16 Girls’ Division 1
League Final will take place at 11:00 AM
followed by the U18.5 Boys’ Division 2
Final at 1:00 PM.
The first of the two finals is the Bank
of Ireland U16 Girls’ Division 1 League
Final Cup which will see Ballinasloe
RFC take on Ballina RFC. Both teams
narrowly missed out on the U16 Division
1 League Final last year which saw
Sligo RFC and Tuam/Oughterard RFC
contest for the trophy. Both Ballinasloe
and Ballina stormed through the U16
League this season with Ballina’s only
loss being in round 1 against Ballinasloe
where they fell to the home side 12-5
after a nail-biter of a game. Ballinasloe’s
winning streak was only disrupted by an
away draw against Westport in round
6 of the competition. Ballinasloe and
Ballina have both displayed impressive
performances this season and this final
will be no different.
The match is promised to be a thriller
of a rematch between the two sides.
The Bank of Ireland U16 Girls’ Division 1
League Final is at 11:00 AM on Sun, 21st
January in Dexcom Stadium.
The second final of the day will see
Ballinasloe RFC take on Carrick-on-
Shannon RFC in the Bank of Ireland

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