Emmet Moloney writes for the 'The Irish Farmers Journal' and is a former sports columnist with 'The Kerryman'.

Emmet Moloney gets the view from the West as Ireland’s forgotten province fights for its rugby survival...

Croke Park will be filled this weekend with 82,000 people paying decent money to watch top-class rugby. On Good Friday, the Stations of the Cross will be followed by Munster versus Leinster in Limerick – drink or no drink. Ireland and Munster will win, of course, but Ireland will have it very tough this Saturday. The Welsh are wounded animals and dangerous. And they have the players, if in the mood. A narrow win thanks to the boot of Sexton, methinks.

You will be watching, won’t you? Irish games are compulsory nowadays and when Munster and Leinster meet? Well, that’s obligatory. Rugby is on a high in this country. Down around me in Clare, the Munster jersey is by far the most popular form of sporting attire. From my many sojourns to Dublin, I can see that the Leinster jersey is now a badge of honour (in certain parts of the city).

Interest and support in the provinces has never been stronger. Or has it? Whither Connacht? We have four green fields in this country; it just seems the grass isn’t as green in Connacht. About seven years ago, it was mooted that they would be disbanded as the IRFU could not afford to subsidise Connacht in the same manner as they funded Ulster, Munster and Leinster. Support was mobilised and a march on IRFU headquarters in Dublin was part of the campaign to keep Connacht alive. Whispers in recent weeks suggest that the placards might be needed again.

Just last week, the IRFU announced the appointment of Eric Elwood as Connacht’s new coach. This was expected, but Elwood being handed just a one-year contract was not. Have they just 12 months to live? John Fallon doesn’t think so.

John is a former team manager of the Connacht rugby set-up and the man RTÉ go to in the Sportsground whenever they need an update on a match. He says this one-year contract for the new coach is a red herring: “The province is being reviewed by the IRFU and that’s widely known. But it is Connacht themselves that have asked for the review. Some changes might emerge from that review, but we feel our future is sustainable. What is forgotten is that we have plenty of players here on contracts until 2012,” says John. “So, I don’t think that disbanding Connacht is on the agenda right now. Connacht CEO Jerry Kelly said last week that this review is all about identifying a sustainable future for the province. I strongly believe that.”

So, those of us who keep an eye out for Connacht results can relax. But hold on, back in 2003, when the IRFU did talk about dropping Connacht’s professional set-up, times were good. Now resources are a real issue. How can John be so optimistic about the future?
“Back in 2003, the IRFU had a few areas to sort out and Munster and Leinster were part of that, as well as the international team. Great work has been done since and the game has never been stronger in the country. “Now we have only two real areas of concern – Connacht and our sevens structure. I’m confident the IRFU will act to strengthen both,” says John.

But is there a market for rugby in the five counties? Is the tradition there? Are the crowds there? John uses the Volvo Ocean Volvo Race extravaganza in Galway to highlight what can be achieved: “We had hundreds of thousands of people in Galway for that week. It was a huge success and a perfect illustration of what can be done if marketing resources are ploughed into an event. “We get between 1,500 and 2,000 for games here in the Sportsground but we need the ground updated to host bigger games and bigger crowds. We need resources put into that. That’s where the future of Connacht rugby lies,” stresses John Fallon.

On the field, Connacht have occasionally punched above their weight. Twenty eight players have represented Ireland after starting their careers in Connacht and Ciaran Fitzgerald is probably their most generous gift to the international set-up.

But recent years have not been kind to Ireland’s forgotten province. When Munster, Leinster and Ulster play Heineken Cup, Connacht are banished to the European Challenge Cup. Hidden from our televisions and garnering few headlines, their season has usually petered out by early April. In the Magners League, they have finished last for the past five years and are on course to do so again. Their only route left to the grail of the Heineken Cup is if they somehow win that Challenge Cup. As if their task couldn’t get any harder, third-placed group teams in the Heineken Cup now enter that competition at the quarter-final stage.

Eric Elwood does not have the same pulling power as Michael Cheika or Tony McGahon. He can’t offer Heineken Cup rugby to a potential signing. Current stars with Leinster and Munster, players of the calibre of Bernard Jackman, Paul Warwick, John Fogarty, Jerry Flannery and Eoin Reddan all learnt their trade with Connacht. The province has assumed an almost unsaid “feeder” role for the other three heavyweights. A nursery, of sorts. Is this a good thing? John Fallon points out that Irish rugby needs a strong Connacht, but a case could be made that the other provinces don’t.

“There are two ways we can look at Connacht’s unique position. The bigger picture demands a resourced and competitive Connacht team, with that natural competitiveness making us all stronger. “But the three Heineken Cup positions seem to be ‘owned’ by the three heavyweights and Connacht cannot make that forward step. I suppose it is a natural thing that they would look to safeguard those Heineken Cup slots.”

What does the incoming coach think? Does Eric Elwood believe Connacht will still be a full-time, professional rugby entity after his initial 12-month contract or when the review is completed. “When this [review] was mentioned first, I got a bit scared, but I now genuinely feel it is a positive thing because it was the Connacht Branch who went to the Union,” says Eric. “They instigated this, and the Union and the Branch are now working hard together.
“I firmly believe after this review is done, positive things will come out of it because we want to be one of four, not three plus one. So, I genuinely believe it will be positive, but we do have to work with the Union. Simple as that.”

Let’s hope it will be as simple as that. Underage rugby in Connacht is strong and home-grown talent will be coming on stream within a few years. In the meantime, rugby booms in the country as a whole and Connacht cannot be left behind.
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