1996–97 Connacht Rugby season

1996–97 Connacht Rugby season
Ground(s)The Sportsground, Galway
CoachWarren Gatland
CaptainKevin Devlin
Top scorerEric Elwood (128)
Most triesBrian Carey (4)
League(s)Challenge Cup (4th in pool)
IRFU Interprovincial Championship (4th of 4)
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996-97 season was Connacht's second season under professionalism. Warren Gatland was in his first season as head coach, appointed in August 1996 following the resignation of Eddie O'Sullivan.[1] They competed in the inaugural European Challenge Cup (then known as the European Conference) and the IRFU Interprovincial Championship, embarked on a two-match tour of Sweden, and hosted Australia.

At this stage the Irish provinces were still representative teams, not professional clubs. However, the provinces were now offering contracts and match fees for Heineken Cup and Interprovincial matches, although these contracts sometimes conflicted with players contracted to clubs in England.[2]

Players selected

Connacht Rugby squad

Props

  • Tom Clancy (St Mary's)
  • D. Coon (Wanderers)
  • D. Ennis (Skerries)
  • Michael Finlay (Wanderers)
  • Gareth Halpin (St Mary's)
  • John Maher (Buccaneers)
  • R. Ward (Old Belvedere)

Hookers

  • Barry Browne (St Mary's)
  • Billy Mulcahy (Skerries)

Locks

  • Graham Heaslip (Galwegians)
  • Shane Leahy (Lansdowne)
  • Mick O'Neill (Blackrock)

Back row

  • Ronnie Culliton (Wanderers)
  • Kevin Devlin (St. Marys) (c)
  • Barry Gavin (Galwegians)
  • Mark Reilly (Oxford University)
  • Rory Rogers (Blackrock)
  • Neil Taylor (Galwegians)

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

  • Nicky Barry (Clontarf)
  • Mervyn Murphy (Galwegians)
  • Alan Reddan (Lansdowne)

Wings

  • David Beggy (Blackrock)
  • Nigel Carolan (Corinthians)
  • Michael Devine (Buccaneers)
  • Dermot Finnegan (Wanderers)
  • Mick Kearin (Lansdowne)

Fullbacks

  • Brian Carey (Blackrock)
  • Owen Cobbe (Wanderers)
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players.
* denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.

Tour

3 September 1996 Sweden 7-47 Connacht Stockholm  
Try: Alexsson
Con: Njuru
 Report[3] Try: Cobbe
Elwood
Mulcahy
Devine
Heaslip
Finnegan
Con: Elwood (2)
Pen: Elwood (3)
Connacht lineup:

1. Tom Clancy, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. R. Ward,
4. Mick O'Neill, 5. Graham Heaslip,
6. Rory Rogers, 7. Mark Reilly, 8. Kevin Devlin (c),
9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood,
11. Dermot Finnegan, 12. Nicky Barry, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Michael Devine,
15. Owen Cobbe.
Replacements: B. Gavin (for Reilly 36'), Nigel Carolan (for Barry 68'), D. Ennis (for Clancy 72').

6 September 1996 Stockholm Exiles 12-65 Connacht Stockholm  
Report[4] Try: Carey (2)
Kearin (2)
A. Reddan
Gavin
Beggy
Taylor
Finnegan
Heaslip
Con: Cobbe (6)
Pen: Cobbe
Connacht lineup:

1. John Maher, 2. Barry Browne, 3. D. Coon,
4. Mick O'Neill, 5. Shane Leahy,
6. Neil Taylor, 7. Barry Gavin, 8. Kevin Devlin (c),
9. Coor McGuinness, 10. Owen Cobbe,
11. David Beggy, 12. Alan Reddan, 13. Nigel Carolan, 14. Mick Kearin,
15. Brian Carey.
Replacements: Gareth Heaslip (for O'Neill), D. Ennis (for Maher), Dermot Finnegan (for Beggy).

IRFU Interprovincial Championship

Main article: IRFU Interprovincial Championship
Team P W D L F A BP Pts Status
3 3 0 0 117 92 - 6 Champions; qualified for 1997–98 Heineken Cup
3 1 0 2 88 92 - 2 Qualified for 1997–98 Heineken Cup
3 1 0 2 81 89 - 2 Qualified for 1997–98 Heineken Cup
3 1 0 2 77 90 - 2 Qualified for 1997–98 European Challenge Cup
21 September 1996 Munster 45–28 Connacht Temple Hill  
Try: Lacey (2)
Foley
McCahill
Walsh
Con: O'Halloran (4)
Pen: O'Halloran (3)
Drop: O'Halloran
 Report[5][6] Try: A. Reddan
Devine (2)
Con: Elwood (2)
Pen: Elwood (3)
 Referee: A. Watson
Connacht:

1. John Maher (Old Belvedere), 2. Billy Mulcahy (Skerries), 3. R. Ward (Old Belvedere),
4. Graham Heaslip (Galwegians), 5. Mick O'Neill (Blackrock),
6. Rory Rogers (Blackrock), 7. Barry Gavin (Galwegians), 8. Kevin Devlin (St. Mary's, c),
9. Conor McGuinness (St. Mary's), 10. Eric Elwood (Lansdowne),
11. Dermot Finnegan (Wanderers), 12. Nicky Barry (Clontarf), 13. Alan Reddan (Lansdowne), 14. Michael Devine (Buccaneers),
15. Brian Carey (Blackrock).
Replacements: Nigel Carolan (Corinthians, for Barry), Diarmuid Reddan (Galwegians, for Carey).

28 September 1996 Ulster 32-27 Connacht Ravenhill  
Try: Duncan
Laing
Topping
Con: Laing
Pen: Laing (5)
 Report[7] Try: Carey
Elwood
Con: Elwood
Pen: Elwood (5)
Drop: Elwood
 Referee: B. Smith
Connacht lineup:

1. John Maher, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. R. Ward,
4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy,
6. Rory Rogers, 7. Barry Gavin, 8. Kevin Devlin (c),
9. Conor McGuinness, 10. Eric Elwood,
11. Dermot Finnegan, 12. Nigel Carolan, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Michael Devine,
15. Brian Carey.

5 October 1996 Connacht 22-13 Leinster Galway Sportsgrounds  
Try: Leahy
Elwood
Pen: Elwood (3)
 Report[8] Try: Francis
Con: Governey
Pen: Governey (2)
Connacht lineup:

1. John Maher, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. R. Ward,
4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy,
6. Rory Rogers, 7. Barry Gavin, 8. Kevin Devlin (c),
9. Conor McGuinness, 10. Eric Elwood,
11. Mick Kearin, 12. Nigel Carolan, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Michael Devine,
15. Brian Carey.

European Challenge Cup

Main article: 1996–97 European Challenge Cup

Pool 3

Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
Northampton Saints 5 5 0 0 28 12 +16 207 88 +119 10
Toulon 5 4 0 1 22 10 +12 164 102 +62 8
Orrell 5 2 0 3 18 22 −4 122 173 −51 4
Connacht 5 2 0 3 9 17 −8 94 131 −37 4
Dunvant 5 1 0 4 15 22 −7 106 169 −63 2
Petrarca 5 1 0 4 10 19 −9 118 148 −30 2
Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-08-20 at archive.today
Points breakdown:
*2 points for a win
*1 point for a draw
12 October 1996 Connacht 34–12 Petrarca The Sportsground  
Try: Leahy
Mulcahy
Barry
Con: Elwood (2)
Pen: Elwood (5)
 [9][10] Pen: De Marco (4)
Connacht lineup:

1. John Maher, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Michael Finlay,
4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy,
6. Rory Rogers, 7. Kevin Devlin (c), 8. Barry Gavin,
9. Conor McGuinness, 10 Eric Elwood,
11. Mick Kearin, 12. Nicky Barry, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Michael Devine,
15. Brian Carey.
Replacement: Diarmuid Reddan.

16 October 1996 Dunvant 26–9 Connacht Broadacre, Dunvant  
Try: Spender
Evans
Con: Thomas (2)
Pen: Thomas (4)
Cards: Spender 		Report[11] Pen: Elwood (3)
Cards: Shane Leahy
Connacht lineup:

1. John Maher, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Michael Finlay,
4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy,
6. Rory Rogers, 7. Barry Gavin, 8. Kevin Devlin (c),
9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood,
11. Mick Kearin, 12. Nicky Barry, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Michael Devine,
15. Brian Carey.
Replacements: Mick O'Neill (for Leahy 43')

19 October 1996 Connacht 11–31 Northampton Saints The Sportsground  
Try: Carey
Pen: Elwood
Carey
 Report[12] Try: Beal (2)
Grayson
Dawson
Townsend
Con: Grayson (3)
Connacht lineup:

1. Tom Clancy, 2. Barry Browne, 3. Michael Finlay,
4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy,
6. Mark Reilly, 7. Rory Rogers (c), 8. Barry Gavin,
9. Conor McGuinness, 10. Eric Elwood,
11. Mick Kearin, 12. Alan Reddan, 13. Nicky Barry, 14. Michael Devine,
15. Brian Carey.
Replacement: Kevin Devlin (for Rogers 23'), Ronnie Culliton (for Gavin 3')

27 October 1996 Toulon 44–10 Connacht Stade Mayol  
Try: Teisseire (2)
Durand (4)
Mignoni
Con: Teisseire (3)
Pen: Teisseire
 Report Try: A. Reddan
Con: Cobbe
Pen: Cobbe
Connacht lineup:

1. Tom Clancy, 2. Billy Mulcahy, Michael Finlay,
4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy,
6. Neil Taylor, 7. Kevin Devlin (c), 8. Mark Reilly, 9. Conor McGuinness, 10. Owen Cobbe,
11. Mick Kearin, 12. Nicky Barry, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Michael Devine,
15. Brian Carey.
Replacements: Gareth Halpin, Nigel Carolan, Barry Browne, Mick O'Neill

2 November 1996 Connacht 30–18 Orrell The Sportsground  
Try: Kearin
Heaslip
Penalty try
Con: Elwood (3)
Pen: Elwood (3)
 [13] Try: Smith (2)
Turner
Pen: Hitchmough
Connacht lineup:

1. John Maher, 2. Barry Browne, 3. Michael Finlay,
4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Ronnie Culliton,
6. Shane Leahy, 7. Rory Rogers, 8. Barry Gavin,
9. Conor McGuinness, 10. Eric Elwood,
11. Nigel Carolan, 12. Nicky Barry, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Mick Kearin,
15. Owen Cobbe.

Representative

13 November 1996 Connacht 20-37 Australia Galway Sportsgrounds  
Try: Leahy
Pen: Elwood (5)
 Report[14] Try: Gavin
Gregan (2)
Finegan
Murdoch
Con: Wallace (3)
Pen: Wallace (2)
Connacht lineup:

1. John Maher, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Michael Finlay,
2. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy,
6. Neil Taylor, 7. Barry Gavin, Rory Rogers (c) 9. Conor McGuinness, 10. Eric Elwood,
11. Nigel Carolan, 12. Nicky Barry, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Mick Kearin,
15. Brian Carey.
Replacements: Mark Reilly (for Taylor 53'), R. Ward (for Maher 62'), Mervyn Murphy (for Barry 76')

References

  1. ^ Kieran Rooney, "Gatland gets Connacht post", Irish Independent, 31 August 1996
  2. ^ "Reid's cautionary note on contracts", Belfast Telegraph, 23 March 1996
  3. ^ "Elwood puts the Swedes on rack", Irish Independent, 4 September 1996
  4. ^ "Connacht in ten-try spree", Irish Independent, 7 September 1996
  5. ^ "Munster 45-28 Connacht". Munster Rugby. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  6. ^ Kieran Rooney, "O'Halloran in superb form for Munster", Sunday Independent, 22 September 1996
  7. ^ Sean Diffley, "Connacht falter with the winning post in sight", Sunday Independent, 29 September 1996
  8. ^ "Eric makes it 'ell for Leinster", Sunday Life, 6 October 1996
  9. ^ "Connacht start Euro campaign with win", Sunday World, 13 October 1996
  10. ^ Ian O'Doherty, "Connacht victory flatters to deceive", Sunday Tribune, 13 October 1996
  11. ^ "Late tries finish off Connacht", Irish Independent, 17 October 1996
  12. ^ Gerry Doherty, "Connacht held as Northampton finally get combination right", Sunday Tribune, 20 October 1996
  13. ^ "Elwood leads the way as Connacht hit top form", Sunday Independent. 3 November 1996
  14. ^ Kieran Rooney, "Australia rule the west", Irish Independent, 14 November 1996
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