By JOHN FALLON A new era is dawning for Connacht off the pitch but a familiar tale of woe is developing on it after a shockingly poor display against Ulster on Saturday night that has left an air of gloom hanging over the organisation heading into 2025. The ramifications of this defeat — their third URC game without picking up a single point — are as big for those off-field developments as they are for what’s happening on it as the province heads into an era when their €40m investment in the Sportsground will be showcased . .
. and has to be paid for. Central to the financial well-being of all the four provinces is participation and success in the Champions Cup.
Qualification is not that difficult. All teams have to do is finish in the top eight of the 16-team URC and at a time when all four Welsh provinces are in turmoil, Zebre have sent out an SOS for funding, and some of the four South African teams continue to send weakened squads to the Northern Hemisphere, it should be within grasp of the strongest squad assembled by Connacht in the professional era. In the past three seasons, the team finishing eighth and making the cut for the knockout stages and qualifying for the Champions Cup has needed 50, 48 and 50 points.
Connacht were poised to easily hit that target and qualify when they accumulated 18 points after one-third of this URC season in October, with three wins from six games being augmented by six bonus points. But now the Westerners have reached the halfway.
