# 2019–20 Connacht Rugby season

The 2019–20 season was Irish provincial rugby union side Connacht Rugby's nineteenth season competing in the Pro14, and the team's twenty-fourth season as a professional side. It was Andy Friend's second season in charge of the side.
In the regular season, Connacht were placed in Conference B of the Pro14, after spending the previous two seasons in Conference A. As well as playing in the Pro14, the team competed in the Champions Cup in Europe on the back of the previous season's league performance. They were drawn into pool 5 with Gloucester, Montpellier and Toulouse, and finished bottom of the table. In addition to the league and European competitions, the Connacht Eagles development side again competed in the Celtic Cup. The Eagles finished third in the regular season of the eight-team competition, just two points behind finalists Ulster A.
On 12 March 2020, with 13 of Connacht's 21 fixtures in the regular season of the Pro14 completed, the league was put on indefinite hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. The competition resumed in August, with the remaining fixtures replaced by two rounds of derby games for each team. Connacht ultimately finished fourth in their conference. This was enough to earn entry to the 2020–21 Champions Cup after it was expanded to 24 teams on a one-season basis due to the pandemic.

## 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.
| Role | Name | Union |
| Chief Executive | Willie Ruane | Ireland |
| Team Manager | Tim Allnutt | New Zealand |
| Head Coach | Andy Friend | Australia |
| Forwards Coach | Jimmy Duffy | Ireland |
| Backs Coach | Nigel Carolan | Ireland |
| Defence Coach | Peter Wilkins | England |
| Senior Video Analyst | Simon Kavanagh | Ireland |
| Head of Strength and Conditiong | David Howarth | Australia |
| Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach | Johnny O'Connor | Ireland |
| Academy Manager | Eric Elwood | Ireland |
| Connacht Eagles Coach | Mossy Lawler | Ireland |

## Players
### Senior playing squad

| Connacht Rugby Pro14 squad |
| Props Jack Aungier Finlay Bealham Denis Buckley Matthew Burke Rory Burke Jordan Duggan Conor Kenny Paddy McAllister Dominic Robertson-McCoy* Hookers Shane Delahunt Dave Heffernan Tom McCartney* Jonny Murphy Locks Ultan Dillane Óisín Dowling Joe Maksymiw* Eoghan Masterson Niall Murray Seán O'Brien Quinn Roux Gavin Thornbury | Back row Paul Boyle Jarrad Butler (c) Robin Copeland Colby Fainga'a Cillian Gallagher Seán Masterson Eoin McKeon Conor Oliver Abraham Papali'i Scrum-halves Caolin Blade Stephen Kerins Angus Lloyd Kieran Marmion Colm Reilly Fly-halves Jack Carty Conor Dean Conor Fitzgerald David Horwitz | Centres Bundee Aki Sammy Arnold Tom Daly Tom Farrell Kyle Godwin Peter Robb Wings Niyi Adeolokun Matt Healy Stephen Fitzgerald Ben O'Donnell John Porch Peter Sullivan Alex Wootton Fullbacks Will Goddard* Darragh Leader Tiernan O'Halloran |
| (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. $^*$ denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Italics indicate players signed during mid-season break. Players and their allocated positions from the Connacht Rugby website. |

### Academy squad

| Connacht Rugby Academy squad |
| Props Jordan Duggan (2) Hookers Declan Adamson (1) Dylan Tierney-Martin (2) Locks Niall Murray (2) | Back row Joshua Dunne (2) Seán Masterson (3) Oisín McCormack (1) Mikey Wilson (2) Scrum-halves Colm Reilly (2) Fly-halves Luke Carty (3) Conor Dean (2) | Centres Shane Jennings (1) Seán O'Brien (2) Wings Conor Hayes (2) Hugh Lane (1) Oran McNulty (2) Fullbacks Colm de Buitléar (3) |
| (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players, number in brackets indicates players stage in the three-year academy cycle. $^*$ denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Players and their allocated positions from the Connacht Rugby website. |

## Senior team transfers

Unlike most seasons, where the bulk of transfers occur during the summer pre-season the 2019–20 season saw two separate periods of major transfer activity. Many moves scheduled to happen at the end of the season instead took place during the extended hiatus from March to August 2020.

### May 2020 – August 2020
## Results
### Pro14

2019–20 Pro14 table
view · watch · · discuss :
| Conference A ||||||||||||||
| | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | PTS |
| 1 | Leinster (CH) | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 531 | 216 | +315 | 74 | 28 | 9 | 0 | 69 |
| 2 | Ulster (RU) | 15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 385 | 306 | +79 | 50 | 40 | 7 | 3 | 44 |
| 3 | Glasgow Warriors | 15 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 364 | 329 | +35 | 53 | 42 | 5 | 1 | 38 |
| 4 | Cheetahs | 13 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 342 | 280 | +62 | 48 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 32 |
| 5 | Dragons | 15 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 283 | 415 | –132 | 32 | 49 | 1 | 1 | 24 |
| 6 | Zebre | 15 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 230 | 399 | –169 | 29 | 56 | 4 | 3 | 21 |
| 7 | Ospreys | 15 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 205 | 375 | –170 | 21 | 45 | 1 | 4 | 17 |
| Conference B ||||||||||||||
| | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | PTS |
| 1 | Edinburgh (SF) | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 391 | 225 | +166 | 47 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 51 |
| 2 | Munster (SF) | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 426 | 255 | +171 | 53 | 26 | 8 | 3 | 51 |
| 3 | Scarlets | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 354 | 274 | +80 | 46 | 34 | 5 | 2 | 47 |
| 4 | Connacht | 15 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 302 | 360 | –58 | 41 | 48 | 7 | 1 | 40 |
| 5 | Benetton | 15 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 309 | 350 | –41 | 35 | 42 | 5 | 5 | 36 |
| 6 | Cardiff Blues | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 283 | 327 | –44 | 30 | 38 | 3 | 2 | 33 |
| 7 | Southern Kings | 13 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 204 | 498 | –294 | 23 | 75 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order - number of matches won the difference between points for and points against the number of tries scored the most points scored the difference between tries for and tries against the fewest red cards received the fewest yellow cards received ||||||||||||||
| Green background indicates teams that compete in the Pro14 play-offs, and also earn a place in the 2020–21 European Champions Cup Blue background indicates teams outside the play-off places that earn a place in the 2020–21 European Champions Cup Red background indicates teams ineligible for European cup tournaments Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup. (CH) Champions. (RU) Runners-up. (SF) Losing semi-finalists. (Q) Qualified for Pro14 play-off semi-finals. (e) Cannot reach play-offs. ||||||||||||||
* 1 2 This excludes the game against Ulster on 23 August 2020, which was officially a home game but played behind closed doors in the Aviva Stadium.
* ↑ Ulster deducted 1 point for administration error regarding Ian Madigan.

#### Conference Rounds 1 to 13

* 28 September 2019 17:15
| Scarlets | 18–10 | Connacht |
| | Report | |
* Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,415 Referee: Stuart Berry (SARU)
* 5 October 2019 19:35
| (1 BP) Connacht | 41–5 | Benetton |
| | Report | |
* Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 4,839 Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge (SARU)
* 11 October 2019 19:35
| Dragons | 14–38 | Connacht (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Rodney Parade Attendance: 3,257 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)
* 26 October 2019 17:15
| (1 BP) Connacht | 24–22 | Cheetahs (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 4,945 Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
* 2 November 2019 17:15
| Ospreys | 10–20 | Connacht |
| | Report | |
* Liberty Stadium Attendance: 5,726 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)
* 8 November 2019 19:35
| Connacht | 11–42 | Leinster (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 8,129 Referee: Sean Gallagher (IRFU)
* 30 November 2019 17:15
| (1 BP) Connacht | 24–12 | Southern Kings |
| | Report | |
* Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 5,146 Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
* 21 December 2019 17:15
| (1 BP) Connacht | 14–19 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 8,129 Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
* 27 December 2019 19:35
| (1 BP) Ulster | 35–3 | Connacht |
| | Report | |
* Kingspan Stadium Attendance: 17,483 Referee: Sean Gallagher (IRFU)
* 4 January 2020 17:30
| (1 BP) Leinster | 54–7 | Connacht |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 18,300 Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
* 15 February 2020 19:35
| (1 BP) Connacht | 29–0 | Cardiff Blues |
| | Report | |
* Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 4,512 Referee: Stuart Berry (SARU)
* 21 February 2020 19:35
| (1 BP) Edinburgh | 41–14 | Connacht |
| | Report | |
* BT Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 5,367 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)
* 1 March 2020 13:00
| Southern Kings | 19–29 | Connacht (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni (SARU)

#### Additional Derby Rounds

* 23 August 2020 16:30
| (1 BP) Connacht | 26–20 | Ulster (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Aviva Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU)
* 30 August 2020 15:00
| Munster | 49–12 | Connacht |
| | Report | |
* Aviva Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU)

### Champions Cup
#### Pool 5

| Teamvte | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| Toulouse (3) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 162 | 85 | 77 | 19 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
| Gloucester | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 140 | 140 | 0 | 19 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| Montpellier | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 118 | 157 | –39 | 12 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Connacht | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 120 | 158 | –38 | 15 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
* 17 November 2019 13:00
| Connacht | 23–20 | Montpellier (1 BP) |
| Try: Boyle 37' m McCartney 40'+4 m Blade 52' c Con: Carty (1/3) 53' Pen: Carty (1/1) 15' C. Fitzgerald 67' (1/1) | Report | Try: Cruden 1' c Bouthier 62' c Con: Paillaugue (2/2) 1', 63' Pen: Paillaugue (2/2) 22', 46' |
* Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 6,229 Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)
* 23 November 2019 14:00
| (1 BP) Toulouse | 32–17 | Connacht |
| Try: Bézy 12' c Huget 33' m Kaino 63' c Ahki 80'+1 c Con: Ramos (3/4) 14', 64', 80'+2 Pen: Ramos (2/2) 18', 60' | Report | Try: Farrell 10' c Blade 24' c Con: Fitzgerald (2/2) 11', 25' Pen: Fitzgerald (0/1) Drop: Fitzgerald (1/1) 49' |
* Stade Ernest-Wallon Attendance: 15,100 Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
* 8 December 2019 13:00
| (1 BP) Gloucester | 26–17 | Connacht |
| Try: Marshall (2) 3' c, 60' m Rees-Zammit 46' c Polledri 63' c Con: Cipriani (3/4) 4', 46', 64' | Report | Try: Porch 8' c Roux 80' c Con: Carty (1/1) 8' Fitzgerald (1/1) 80'+1 Pen: Carty (1/2) 17' |
* Kingsholm Stadium Attendance: 10,875 Referee: Pascal Gauzère (FFR)
* 14 December 2019 12:45
| Connacht | 27–24 | Gloucester (2 BP) |
| Try: Blade 29' c Delahunt 76' c Copeland 80' c Con: Fitzgerald (3/3) 30', 77', 80'+ 2 Pen: Fitzgerald (2/2) 14', 59' | Report | Try: Grobler 33' c Atkinson (2) 50' m, 68' m Ludlow 65' c Con: Twelvetrees (2/4) 34', 66' |
* Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 6,787 Referee: Romain Poite (FFR)
* 11 January 2019 15:15
| Connacht | 7–21 | Toulouse |
| Try: Penalty try 10' | Report | Try: Kaino 19' c Marchand 37' c Ahki 44' c Con: Ramos (3/3) 21', 39', 46' |
* Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 8,129 Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
* 19 January 2019 16:15
| (1 BP) Montpellier | 35–29 | Connacht (2 BP) |
| Try: Chilachava 3' c N'Gandebe (2) 23' c, 28' c Reilhac (2) 52' c, 77' c Con: Pollard (5/5) 4', 24', 30', 52', 78' | Report | Try: Healy 34' c Porch 36' c Marmion 40'+1 c Godwin 43' m Con: Carty (3/4) 35', 38', 40'+ 2 Pen: Carty (1/1) 57' |
* Altrad Stadium Attendance: 9,900 Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)