Back in Connacht’s preseason, the players were expecting Stuart Lancaster to prolong a tough session for another hour or so when, instead, an ice cooler was brought out onto the astroturf pitch for them to have a few beers.
Lancaster had told his players to look up toward a concrete shell. That very structure will be unveiled as the new Clan Stand when Connacht host Leinster on Saturday at the Dexcom Stadium (kick-off 5.30pm). He recalls asking senior players Dave Heffernan, Caolin Blade and Jack Carty “to talk about their memories when they first came here”, adding: “It was amazing really. They were in portacabins.”
Last week, ahead of their Challenge Cup game against Montauban when they were able to use the new home dressingroom – about four times the size of the old one – the players were brought up to the third floor of the Clan Stand. The Atlantic Premium Level, with its view of Galway Bay and the Clare mountains, can host up to 840 people, with 4,000 in the middle tier – aka the 1885 level – and 1,600 in the terracing.
Lancaster reminded the players of their preseason chat.
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“And I said to them that the thing about iconic stadiums – and I’m lucky to have been involved in great games in lots of iconic stadiums – is they’re not necessarily the biggest stadiums. They’re the ones that are in the heart of the community, which this one is.
“You’re playing for the people, which we are here in the west of Ireland, who come and support and get behind the team, but it’s the players ultimately that bring a stadium to life.
“That’s what I wanted to impress on the players: ‘When we sit in this stand, we can see your actions, we can see your work-rate, we can see the intangibles, we can see when you’re showing team spirit, when you’re showing great rugby intelligence, when you’re showing connection’.
“And I said, ‘let’s make sure we see those things, because the Connacht supporters will respond in kind’.
“And when you’re stood on that third floor and you’re looking over Galway Bay, it’s amazing, isn’t it? But we need to bring it to life and the players know that. For the senior players and John Muldoon, you can feel a sense of responsibility that we have to them. I feel it as a head coach and I’ve only been here six months.”
Now the week has arrived, namely the grand opening of the new Clan Stand, which will contain 6,440 supporters among a 12,500 capacity. Lancaster is trying to keep the week as normal as possible “albeit the opposition are pretty good and obviously we realise the significance of the game”.
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“I spoke to a lot of the lads about the game in Mayo last year,” he added in reference to the 27,870 in Castlebar last March when Munster beat Connacht 30-24. “AThe size of the occasion probably surprised them when they actually got there.”
This is “without a doubt” the biggest match of Lancaster’s fledgling time with Connacht.
“On this particular occasion, of course, there’s nothing more you’d like to do than shut your eyes on Saturday night knowing you’ve beaten Leinster, but there’s a bloody good team lying in wait, isn’t there,” he said with a knowing smile having previously spent seven successful years with Leinster as senior coach.
“We’ve got to be at our very, very best to beat Leinster this weekend and we know that. But can it be done? Of course it can be done. I’ve been here with Leinster and I know what it feels like when the Clan crowd and everyone is behind the team, and there’s an energy and an emotion.
“I coached in John Muldoon’s last game. I think it was 40-odd to nil. Felt like 100, to be honest,” he said, recalling the record 47-10 Connacht win in 2018 when their current lineout coach signed off his career by kicking the final conversion.
“But it’s on us to deliver under pressure and I know Leo and the coaches and the players very well, and they won’t be fazed by it. They’ll be energised by it. But I think it’s the perfect game, isn’t it, really, if you were going to pick a game for Connacht to open the stand.”
Every fit player is desperate to play. One of Lancaster’s proven virtues as a coach is his ability to develop young players. Connacht’s injury woes have obliged him to use 42 players this season, including academy players like outside centre Harry West and loosehead Billy Bohan.
“That’s the key for Connacht’s success in the future,” said Lancaster, before employing a well-timed analogy. “When you’re building a stand, you’ve got to build strong foundations.
“I’m very much relying on the senior players, such as Jack Carty, Caolin Blade, Denis Buckley; then grow the leadership of the middle tier, such as Cian Prendergast, Paul Boyle, Josh Ioane in that 25-to-30 bracket, then bring those young players through.
“There’s obviously going to be disappointed players this week, but as I said to them, the season doesn’t start and stop with Leinster on Saturday. We think it’s an achievable goal to get to Bilbao [for the Challenge Cup final] and I do believe that.
“We’ve not won enough games to put ourselves in the [URC] top eight at the moment but if we can, it doesn’t matter whether we’re ranked eighth, seventh or whatever, Connacht can be a hard team to beat come May/June time.
“It’s a huge game for us, but there’s another big game the week after that we need to concentrate on as well.”
