1995–96 Connacht Rugby season

1995–96 Connacht Rugby season
Ground(s)The Sportsground, Galway
CoachEddie O'Sullivan
CaptainKevin Devlin
Top scorerEric Elwood (92)
Most triesNoel Mannion (2)
LeagueIRFU Interprovincial Championship (5th of 5)
← 1994–95 1996–97 →

The 1995–96 season was Connacht's first season under professionalism. Eddie O'Sullivan was head coach, assisted by Mick Cosgrave,[1] and Kevin Devlin was captain. They competed in the IRFU Interprovincial Championship, finishing bottom with four defeats out of four, and hosted Fiji and South African provincial side Griqualand West, winning both matches.

Background

On 26 August, rugby union was declared open to professionalism. At this stage the Irish provinces were still representative teams, not professional clubs.[2] Many involved in the game were concerned that domestic clubs could not afford to pay players, who could be lost to professional teams in England.[3] In September, the IRFU confirmed that, for this season, only senior international players would be paid,[4] with a one-year moratorium on payment for club and provincial players.[5] Up to 35 Ireland players would be offered £26,000 contracts for the 1996 Five Nations Championship.[6] That squad included Connacht player Eric Elwood. As the situation developed, match fees became available for Interprovincial matches.[7]

Players selected

Connacht Rugby squad

Props

  • Davie Henshaw (Buccaneers)
  • Dave Kavanagh (Blackrock)
  • John Maher (Buccaneers)
  • Ciaran Shanley (DLSP)

Hookers

  • Billy Mulcahy (Skerries)
  • Kevin Tierney (Galwegians)

Locks

  • Graham Heaslip (Galwegians)
  • Robert McCarthy (Sunday's Well)
  • J. O'Callaghan (Wanderers)
  • Chas O'Riordan* (Blackrock)

Back row

  • Neil Culliton (Wanderers)
  • Kevin Devlin (St. Marys) (c)
  • Noel Mannion (Buccaneers)
  • Rory Rogers (Blackrock)
  • P. Tarpey (Bective Rangers)

Scrum-halves

  • Kenny Lawless (Clontarf)
  • Diarmuid Reddan (Old Crescent)

Fly-halves

Centres

  • Brian Carey (UCD)
  • R. Corrigan (Lansdowne)
  • Mervyn Murphy (Galwegians)

Wings

  • Nigel Carolan (Galwegians)
  • Michael Devine (Buccaneers)
  • Marcus O'Reilly (Old Belvedere)

Fullbacks

  • Peter Boland (Young Munster)
  • Aidan White (Corinthans)
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players.
* denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.

IRFU Interprovincial Championship

Main article: IRFU Interprovincial Championship
Team P W D L F A Pts Status
4 4 0 0 133 53 16 Champions; qualified for next season's Heineken Cup
4 3 0 1 73 53 12 Qualified for next season's Heineken Cup
4 2 0 2 91 58 8 Qualified for next season's Heineken Cup
4 1 0 3 71 113 4
4 0 0 4 51 142 0
25 November 1995 Irish Exiles 28–22 Connacht The Avenue  
Try: Henderson
Staples (2)
Halpin
Con: Corcoran
Pen: Corcoran (2)
 Report[8][9] Try: Mannion
Con: Elwood
Pen: Elwood (4)
 Referee: L. Mayne
Connacht lineup:

1. Dave Kavanagh, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Ciaran Shanley,
4. Graham Heaslip, 5. J. O'Callaghan,
6. Rory Rogers, 7. Kevin Devlin (c), 8. Noel Mannion,
9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood,
11. Marcus O'Reilly, 12. Brian Carey, 13. R. Corrigan, 14. Michael Devine,
15. Aidan White.

2 December 1995 Connacht 9–27 Ulster Galway Sportsgrounds  
Pen: Elwood (3)
 Report[10] Try: Topping
Field
Con: McCall
Pen: McCall (5)
 Referee: D. McHugh
Connacht lineup:

1. Dave Kavanagh, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Ciaran Shanley,
4. Graham Heaslip, 5. J. O'Callaghan,
6. Rory Rogers, 7. Kevin Devlin (c), 8. Noel Mannion,
9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood,
11. Marcus O'Reilly, 12. Brian Carey, 13. R. Corrigan, 14. Michael Devine,
15. Peter Boland.

2 December 1995 Leinster 41–9 Connacht Donnybrook Stadium  
Try: O'Shea (2)
Hogan
Gavin
McGowan
Con: McGowan (2)
Pen: McGowan (3)
O'Shea
 Report[11] Pen: Elwood (3)
 Referee: B. Smith
Connacht lineup:

1. Dave Kavanagh, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Ciaran Shanley,
4. Graham Heaslip, 5. J. O'Callaghan,
6. Rory Rogers, 7. Kevin Devlin (c), 8. Noel Mannion,
9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood,
11. Marcus O'Reilly, 12. Brian Carey, 13. R. Corrigan, 14. Michael Devine,
15. Peter Boland.
Replacements: Mervyn Murphy (for Carey, 62), Davie Henshaw (for Kavanagh, 66)

23 December 1995 Connacht 11–46 Munster Galway Sportsgrounds  
Try: Heaslip
Pen: Elwood (2)
 Report[12][13] Try: McIvor
P. Clohessy
Crotty
D. Clohessy
Walsh
L. Toland
Con: Smith (5)
Pen: Smith (2)
 Referee: A. Lewis
Connacht lineup:

1. Dave Kavanagh, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Ciaran Shanley,
4. Graham Heaslip, 5. J. O'Callaghan,
6. Rory Rogers, 7. Kevin Devlin (c), 8. Noel Mannion,
9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood,
11. Marcus O'Reilly, 12. Brian Carey, 13. R. Corrigan, 14. Nigel Carolan,
15. Aidan White.
Replacement: Mervyn Murphy (for Carey, 58)

Representative

4 November 1995 Connacht 21-20 Griqualand West Galway Sportsgrounds  
Try: Reddan
Murphy
Con: Carey
Pen: Carey (2)
Drop: Carey
 Report[14] Try: Ross
Horn
Con: Marthinus (2)
Pen: Marthinus (2)
Connacht lineup:

1. Dave Kavanagh, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Ciaran Shanley,
4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Noel Mannion,
6. P Tarpey, 7. Rory Rogers, 8. Kevin Devlin,
9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Brian Carey,
11. Marcus O'Reilly, 12. R. Corrigan, 13. Mervyn Murphy, 14. Michael Devine,
15. Peter Boland.

17 November 1995 Connacht 27-5 Fiji Galway Sportsgrounds  
Try: Devlin
Rogers
Devine
Con: Elwood (3)
Pen: Elwood (2)
 [15] Try: Sadria
Connacht lineup:

1. Dave Kavanagh, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Ciaran Shanley,
4. Grahan Heaslip, 5. Robert McCarthy,
6. Rory Rogers, 7. Noel Mannion, 8. Kevin Devlin,
9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood,
11. Marcus O'Reilly, 12. R. Corrigan, 13. Mervyn Murphy, 14. Michael Devine,
15. Aidan White.
Replacements: Kenny Lawless (for Reddan), Neil Culliton (for McCarthy).

16 December 1995 Connacht 16-22 Glasgow District Galway Sportsgrounds  
Try: Culliton
Mannion
Pen: Elwood (2)
 Try: Little
Wallace
Breckenridge
Con: MacGregor (2)
Pen: MacGregor
Connacht lineup:

1. John Maher, 2. Kevin Tierney, 3. Davie Henshaw,
4. Robert McCarthy, 5. Chad O'Riordan,
6. Neil Culliton, 7. Noel Mannion (c), 8. Rory Rogers,
9. Kenny Lawless, 10. Brian Carey,
11. Aidan White, 12. Eric Elwood, 13. Mervyn Murphy, 14. Michael Devine,
15. Peter Boland.
Replacements: Nigel Carolan (for Devine), Billy Mulcahy (for Tierney)

References

  1. ^ Kieran Rooney, "O'Sullivan drops out", Irish Independent, 30 August 1996
  2. ^ Peter O'Reilly, "Ulster coach warns on power balance", The Sunday Tribune, 22 September 1996
  3. ^ Jim Stokes, "IRFU tackle 'pro' issue", Belfast Telegraph, 28 August 1995
  4. ^ Jim Stokes, "International players only to 'cash in'", Belfast Telegraph, 12 September 1995
  5. ^ Jimmy Davidson, "Market forces takes strangle hold on rugby", Belfast Telegraph, 4 November 1995
  6. ^ Jim Stokes, "Irish international players to pocket £26,000", Belfast Telegraph, 23 October 1995
  7. ^ Tyrone Howe, "Local game needs a professional outlook", Belfast Telegraph, 13 January 1996
  8. ^ Peter Bills, "Exiles hold on to snatch victory from persistent Connacht side", Sunday Independent, 26 November 1995
  9. ^ Phil Minishull, "Exiles win, but are on a loser", Sunday Life, 26 November 1995
  10. ^ John O'Sullivan, "Ulster bounce back from Cardiff Mauling", Sunday Independent, 3 December 1995
  11. ^ Kieran Rooney, "Uneven Leinster on a roll after eighth win", Sunday Independent, 10 October 1995
  12. ^ "Connacht 11-46 Munster". Munster Rugby. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  13. ^ David Walsh, "Dethroned Munster run Connacht ragged", Sunday Independent, 24 December 1995
  14. ^ Connacht do this business without the mercenaries!", Connacht Sentinel, 7 November 1995
  15. ^ "Marvellous boost for Connacht rugby", Tuam Herald, 18 November 1995
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