The 2015–16 season was Irish provincial

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

side

Connacht Rugby Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial men's rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Connacht B ...

's fifteenth season competing in the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

, and the team's twentieth season as a professional side. It was

Pat Lam Patrick Richard Lam (born 29 September 1968) is a rugby union coach and former player. He is currently Director of Rugby at Bristol Bears in England's Premiership Rugby. Born in New Zealand, he represented New Zealand in schools and under-21 ...

's third season in charge of the side. Connacht finished the season as league champions after defeating

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

in the

2016 Pro12 Grand Final The 2016 Pro12 Grand Final was the final match of the 2015–16 Pro12 season. The 2015–16 season was the second with Guinness as the title sponsor and the seventh ever League Grand Final. The final was played between Leinster and Connacht. Co ...

, the team's first trophy in its 131-year history. As well as playing in the Pro12, Connacht competed in the

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

in Europe, having lost a

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eith ...

to enter the Champions Cup. The second-tier side the

Connacht Eagles Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial men's rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Connacht Branch, which ...

competed in the 2015–16 British and Irish Cup.

Background

Competition schedule

Having finished seventh in the

2014–15 Pro12 The 2014–15 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the fifth with its current four-country format. It was ...

Connacht were entered into a

to qualify for the 2015–16 Champions Cup, but were beaten by

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

after extra time. Following this defeat, Connacht were entered into the

. On 17 June 2015, Connacht were drawn into Pool 1 of the tournament along with French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

side

Brive Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of ), commonly known as simply Brive, is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglome ...

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

from the English Premiership and Russian side Enisey-STM, who had entered the tournament through a qualifying competition. The early stages of the season were interrupted by the

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

leading to a congested fixture list after the tournament ended. Due to this fixture pile up, Connacht were scheduled to play a game each week for 16 straight weeks after the tournament ended.

Personnel changes

The team came into the season without their long-serving forwards coach

Dan McFarland Dan McFarland (born 10 April 1972) is an English rugby union coach and former player. He was head coach of Ulster Rugby from 2018 to 2024. He played loosehead prop for Richmond, Stade Français and Connacht, retiring in 2006. He was forwards co ...

, following his move to

Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...

. McFarland had joined Connacht as a player in 2000, where he retired and moved into coaching with the side. He was replaced in the role by Jimmy Duffy, who had previously worked for the province's academy. On the playing front, the close season saw the retirement of Michael Swift, the team's former captain who had made a record 269 appearances for the province, 184 of these coming in the league, a competition record. The close season also saw the departure of centurion

Mils Muliaina Junior Malili "Mils" Muliaina (born 31 July 1980) is a former professional rugby union player who most recently played for San Francisco Rush in the US PRO Rugby competition. He played primarily as a fullback, though he has also played as a ...

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning " Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by t ...

one season after joining Connacht, and the previous season's loan transfers of John Cooney and

Quinn Roux Quinn Roux (born 30 October 1990) is a rugby union player who plays for Bath in the Premiership Rugby and formerly the Ireland national team. Born in South Africa, he qualified for Ireland through residency, made his international debut in 201 ...

made permanent, while

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

Mick Kearney Mick Kearney (born 29 March 1991) is an Irish rugby union player, currently playing for Irish side Ulster in the United Rugby Championship. His primary position is lock, though he has also played as a flanker. Career Club Kearney, who is ori ...

re-joined his home province of

with Ben Marshall going in the opposite direction.

Season

Pre-season

Connacht players returned to training for pre-season on 29 June 2015.

Robbie Henshaw Robert Anthony Henshaw (born 12 June 1993) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team. He previously played for Connacht until 2016. Early life ...

and

Kieran Marmion Kieran Marmion (born 11 February 1992) is an Irish rugby union player who primarily plays as a scrum-half. Marmion currently plays for English side Bristol Bears. Marmion came into Connacht's academy through the Irish Exiles program and plays ...

were not involved, having returned to training with the squad earlier in the month, ahead of the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

in September. Nathan White was later called into the squad, following an injury to

Marty Moore William Martin Moore (born March 19, 1971) is a former professional American football linebacker who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns. Moore was the first Mr. Irrelev ...

. Marmion did not make the final squad for the tournament. Connacht played three friendlies in the run up to the season. On 7 August they faced French

side

FC Grenoble The Football Club de Grenoble Rugby (FCG) is a French rugby union club based in Grenoble and founded in 1892. FCG was champion of France in 1953–54 French Rugby Union Championship, 1954 and runner-up in 1992–93 French Rugby Union Championshi ...

, coached by former Connacht player

Bernard Jackman Bernard Jackman (born 5 May 1976) is an Irish former rugby union player who played for Connacht, Leinster and Sale Sharks. At international level, he has also played for Ireland. He released his autobiography, ''Blue Blood'' in 2011. He coached ...

, and were beaten 19–52 at home. The following week saw another friendly against Top 14 side, with the team travelling to France to face

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (adminis ...

. Connacht were beaten again, this time by a score of 19–5. The side's final pre-season game came on 21 August, when they faced Irish rivals

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

Thomond Park Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Munster Rugby and has Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. Limerick FC played home games in Thomond Park from 2013 to 2015 in the Le ...

. Putting out a near full strength side, Connacht won their final warm up game 12–28.

September

The opening game of the season was a home game Pro12 game against the Newport Gwent Dragons, with Connacht winning 29–23. The following week saw the team travel to Scotland to face reigning champions

. After being down 23–6 at half-time, Connacht battled back in the second half but were ultimately to 33–32, earning two bonus points for the performance. Following the second round, the league took a two-week break.

October

The competition resumed in October, with Connacht facing

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...

in Galway, earning a try bonus point with a 36–31 victory. The following week saw the team face

, which yielded another bonus point win. On 26 October, Connacht traveled to the

Liberty Stadium The Swansea.com Stadium (; formerly Liberty Stadium) is an all-seated multi-use sports stadium and conferencing venue located in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales, hosting both rugby union and football. The stadium opened in 2005 and was name ...

to face the

Ospreys The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It is ...

who had been champions four times in the past. A 16–21 victory saw Connacht win away to the Welsh side for the first time since 2004. On

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

night, the team hosted

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

at the Sportsgrounds, with a 14–9 victory the result.

November

On 6 November, Connacht faced Benetton Treviso in Galway, winning 33–19 without collecting a try bonus. The league then took a hiatus to allow European competitions, which had been delayed by the World Cup, to take place. Connacht's opening game in the

saw them face Russian side

Enisei-STM Yenisey-STM Rugby Club is a Russian rugby union club founded in 1975. It is one of the two powerful Krasnoyarsk clubs, the other being their cross town rivals Krasny Yar. They participate in the Professional Rugby League, the premier rugby cham ...

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

. This meant a near 6,000 kilometre trip to the

Siberian Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states si ...

city, taking nine hours across two flights for the 24 man squad that traveled. The game was played in temperatures below –20 °C, but Connacht ultimately emerged as 14–31 victors, taking all five points in the process. However, after the game Connacht's return home was delayed. A fault was found with the charter plane before takeoff. This meant alternate plans had to be made, and the travelling party was split into three, with the groups arriving back in Ireland via

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Having planned to leave on the night of the game, the latest returning players had been delayed by three days, arriving on Tuesday night with a game against French side

to come on Saturday. Despite the travel chaos and delayed return, Connacht defeated Brive 21–17 to go top of their pool. Connacht returned to Pro12 action on 28 November in their first inter-provincial derby of the season, facing

. Having not won at the venue for 29 years, Connacht pulled off a 12–18 upset, their seventh win from the eight league games played. This left the team top of both the league and their European pool going into December.

December

Connacht's first game in December was away to Cardiff Blues, which ended in a 20–16 defeat. On 11 December, Connacht faced the

in Galway in the Challenge Cup, winning 25–10. A week later saw the return fixture take place in

Kingston Park Kingston Park is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, about north west of the city centre. It is home to several large retailers, the largest being one of Tesco's flagship stores—at 11,055 square metres (119,000 sq ft) which was also t ...

, with Connacht losing 29–5. This left Connacht top of the pool on 13 points, with Newcastle two points behind. In the final game of 2015 Connacht faced

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

in Galway on

Saint Stephen's Day Saint Stephen's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Stephen, is a Christian saint's day to commemorate Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr or protomartyr, celebrated on 26 December in Western Christianity and 27 December in Eastern Ch ...

, losing 3–10.

January

Connacht's first game of 2016 took place on

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

, when they traveled to the

RDS Arena RDS Arena is a multi-purpose sports stadium, owned by the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) and located in the Dublin suburb of Ballsbridge, Ireland. The arena was developed to host equestrian events, primarily the annual Dublin Horse Show, which wa ...

to take on

, a game which ended in a 13–0 defeat. On 10 January, the team faced

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...

in Wales, and were beaten 21–19, taking their Pro12 losing streak to four games. The following week saw a return to European competition, with Connacht travelling to France to face Brive in a game they lost 21–18. The following week, they faced Enisei-STM in Galway, winning 47–5 to top the group. The losses to Brive and Newcastle meant that the team qualified for the quarter-finals with the lowest points tally of the group winners, meaning they would be the away team in their quarter-final, being drawn to face

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, the fourth-highest finishing group winner. On 30 January, Connacht faced Scarlets in the Sportsgrounds and won 30–17, their first Pro12 victory since November.

February

There was no game in the first week of February due to the beginning of the

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

. On 11 February, Connacht faced Newport Gwent Dragons in

Rodney Parade Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's central bus and railway stations via Newport Bri ...

, beating them 21–26 and earning a try bonus point to go back to the top of the table. The following week saw the team play Zebre in Italy, a game they won 34–51. In their final game of the month, Connacht faced the Ospreys in the Sportsground, winning 30–22 to extend their lead at the top of the league table.

March

On 4 March, Connacht faced

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...

and won with a bonus point to maintain their position as league leaders. A break for the end of the Six Nations meant that only two games were played in March. In the second game, Connacht faced second-placed Leinster at home in an inter-provincial derby on 26 March, with a 7–6 victory seeing them extend their lead.

April

On 1 April, Connacht faced Ulster in

Kingspan Stadium Ravenhill Stadium (known as the Kingspan Stadium for sponsorship reasons until June 2025) is a rugby stadium located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home of Ulster Rugby. With the opening of a new stand for the 2014 Heineken Cup quarter ...

with an 18–10 defeat ending their six-game winning streak in the league. The following week saw a return to European action, with the Challenge Cup quarter-final against Grenoble taking place. Despite scoring four tries, Connacht were on the wrong side of a 33–32 scoreline. The team returned to league action on 16 April with another inter-provincial game, this time against Munster. A bonus point win left the team in second place ahead of Glasgow with two rounds to go. Connacht then traveled to Italy to face bottom side Treviso, but in a shocking upset, the Italians won by a score of 22–21 thanks to a last gasp penalty from Jayden Hayward. However, the losing bonus point was enough to guarantee Connacht a top four finish and a first ever spot in the end-of-year playoffs.

May

On 7 May, Connacht faced Glasgow Warriors in a game that would decide home advantage for the playoff round. Connacht won 14–7 thanks to tries from

Bundee Aki Fua Leiofi Bundellu Aki (born 7 April 1990) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Connacht. Born in New Zealand, he represents Ireland at international level after qualifying on residenc ...

and Tiernan O'Halloran, to set up a home semi-final against the same opposition. That semi-final took place on 21 May, with Connacht finishing 16–11 victors to set up a final against Leinster, the province's first final in the professional era. The

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

took place on 28 May in Murrayfield. Connacht won the game 20–10, with tries from O'Halloran,

Niyi Adeolokun Niyi Adeolokun (born 3 November 1990) is an Irish rugby union player. He primarily plays as a winger. Currently unattached he most recently played for Bristol Bears and previously for Connacht. Adeolokun joined Connacht in 2014 from Trinity ...

and Matt Healy. Captain and man-of-the-match on the day John Muldoon lifted the trophy, the team's first title in its 131-year history.

Coaching and Management Team

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Individuals may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Players

Senior Playing Squad

* Players qualified to play for Ireland on dual nationality or residency grounds*. * Senior 15's internationally capped players in bold. * Irish Provinces were limited to 4 non-Irish eligible (NIE) players and 1 non-Irish qualified player (NIQ or "Project Player"). Connacht Rugby was exempted from this under a separate development arrangement.

Academy squad

year 2 year 2 year 1 year 3 year 1 year 3 year 1 year 3 year 3 year 1 year 3 year 2 year 1 year 3 year 1 year 2 year 3 year 2 year 2 year 1 year 1

Preseason transfers

Players in

* LK

Ultan Dillane Ultan Dillane (born 9 November 1993) is an Irish rugby union player. He plays for La Rochelle in the Top 14 which is the top tier of rugby union in France. Dillane primarily plays as a lock. Early life Dillane was born in Paris, France to an ...

''promoted from academy'' * LK

from

* LK Ben Marshall from

* FL Nepia Fox-Matamua from

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

* FL Eoghan Masterson ''promoted from academy'' * SH Caolin Blade ''promoted from academy'' * SH John Cooney from

* FH

AJ MacGinty Alan "AJ" MacGinty is an Irish-born professional rugby player, who represents the United States in international competition. He primarily plays as a fly-half. MacGinty plays club rugby for Premiership Rugby team Bristol Bears. Early life A g ...

from

Life Running Eagles Life University is a private university focused on training chiropractors and located in Marietta, Georgia, United States. It was established in 1974 by a chiropractor, Sid E. Williams. A 2024 report found that students in Life's doctor of chi ...

* CE Api Pewhairangi from

New Zealand Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

Players out

* HK Seán Henry ''retired'' * LK

* LK Michael Swift ''retired'' * FL Willie Faloon to

* FL Mata Fifita to Galway Tribesmen * FH

Miah Nikora Miah Nikora (born 28 April 1985 in Gisborne, New Zealand) is a professional rugby union player and head coach from New Zealand. He currently is head coach of Civil Projects Solutions Poverty Bay senior rugby club. He primarily played at fly-hal ...

Petrarca Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's let ...

* FB Shane Layden to Ireland Sevens * FB

Playing kit

Connacht's official kit supplier for the season was Australian manufacturer BLK sport, in the third year of a four-year agreement to supply apparel for all of Connacht Rugby's representative teams and support staff in 2013. Connacht's main shirt sponsors were Irish sporting retailer

Lifestyle Sports Life Style Sports, officially Lifestyle Sports (Ireland) Limited is Ireland's largest sports retailer, operating 46 outlets spread across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. They stock sporting goods and sport fashions. History Li ...

. Lifestyle Sports signed a four-season deal with the province, to see their logo feature on the jersey until the end of the 2017–18 season.

Results

Pro12

Regular season

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Play-offs

----

Rugby Challenge Cup

Pool 1

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Pool winners and runners-up rankings

Quarter-finals

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connacht 2015-16 2015–16 Pro12 by team 2015–16 in Irish rugby union