1995–96 Connacht Rugby season

May 2026 1995–96 Connacht Rugby season The Sportsground, Galway Eddie O'Sullivan Kevin Devlin Eric Elwood (92) Noel Mannion (2) IRFU Interprovincial Championship (5th of 5) 1994–95 1996–97 The 1995–96 season was Connacht's first season under professionalism. Eddie O'Sullivan was head coach, assisted by Mick Cosgrave,Kieran Rooney, "O'Sullivan drops out", Irish Independent, 30 August 1996 and Kevin Devlin was captain. They competed in the IRFU Interprovincial Championship, finishing bottom with four defeats out of four, and hosted Fiji and South African provincial side Griqualand West, winning both matches. Background On 26 August, rugby union was declared open to professionalism. At this stage the Irish provinces were still representative teams, not professional clubs.Peter O'Reilly, "Ulster coach warns on power balance", The Sunday Tribune, 22 September 1996 Many involved in the game were concerned that domestic clubs could not afford to pay players, who could be lost to professional teams in England.Jim Stokes, "IRFU tackle 'pro' issue", Belfast Telegraph, 28 August 1995 In September, the IRFU confirmed that, for this season, only senior international players would be paid,Jim Stokes, "International players only to 'cash in'", Belfast Telegraph, 12 September 1995 with a one-year moratorium on payment for club and provincial players.Jimmy Davidson, "Market forces takes strangle hold on rugby", Belfast Telegraph, 4 November 1995 Up to 35 Ireland players would be offered £26,000 contracts for the 1996 Five Nations Championship.Jim Stokes, "Irish international players to pocket £26,000", Belfast Telegraph, 23 October 1995 That squad included Connacht player Eric Elwood. As the situation developed, match fees became available for Interprovincial matches.Tyrone Howe, "Local game needs a professional outlook", Belfast Telegraph, 13 January 1996 Players selected Connacht Rugby squadProps IRE rugby union Davie Henshaw (Buccaneers) IRE rugby union Declan Kavanagh (Blackrock) IRE rugby union John Maher (Buccaneers) IRE rugby union Ciaran Shanley (DLSP) Hookers IRE rugby union Billy Mulcahy (Skerries) IRE rugby union Kevin Tierney (Galwegians) Locks IRE rugby union Graham Heaslip (Galwegians) IRE rugby union Robert McCarthy (Sunday's Well) IRE rugby union J. O'Callaghan (Wanderers) RSA Chas O'Riordan* (Blackrock)Back row IRE rugby union Neil Culliton (Wanderers) IRE rugby union Kevin Devlin (St. Marys) (c) IRE rugby union Noel Mannion (Buccaneers) IRE rugby union Rory Rogers (Blackrock) IRE rugby union P. Tarpey (Bective Rangers) Scrum-halves IRE rugby union Kenny Lawless (Clontarf) IRE rugby union Diarmuid Reddan (Old Crescent) Fly-halves IRE rugby union Eric Elwood (Lansdowne)Centres IRE rugby union Brian Carey (UCD) IRE rugby union R. Corrigan (Lansdowne) IRE rugby union Mervyn Murphy (Galwegians) Wings IRE rugby union Nigel Carolan (Galwegians) IRE rugby union Michael Devine (Buccaneers) IRE rugby union Marcus O'Reilly (Old Belvedere) Fullbacks IRE rugby union Peter Boland (Young Munster) IRE rugby union Aidan White (Corinthans) (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Squad IRFU Interprovincial Championship IRFU Interprovincial Championship Team P W D LFAPts Statusleft Leinster 4 4 0 0 133 53 16 Champions; qualified for next season's Heineken Cupleft Ulster 4 3 0 1 73 53 12 Qualified for next season's Heineken Cupleft Munster 4 2 0 2 91 58 8 Qualified for next season's Heineken Cupleft Exiles 4 1 0 3 71 113 4 left Connacht 4 0 0 4 51 142 0 25 November 1995 Irish Exiles IRE rugby union 28–22 ReportPeter Bills, "Exiles hold on to snatch victory from persistent Connacht side", Sunday Independent, 26 November 1995Phil Minishull, "Exiles win, but are on a loser", Sunday Life, 26 November 1995 Connacht Connacht HendersonStaples (2)Halpin Corcoran Corcoran (2) Mannion Elwood Elwood (4) The Avenue L. Mayne Connacht lineup: 1. Declan Kavanagh, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Ciaran Shanley, 4. Graham Heaslip, 5. J. O'Callaghan, 6. Rory Rogers, 7. Kevin Devlin (c), 8. Noel Mannion, 9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood, 11. Marcus O'Reilly, 12. Brian Carey, 13. R. Corrigan, 14. Michael Devine, 15. Aidan White. L 2 December 1995 Connacht Connacht 9–27 ReportJohn O'Sullivan, "Ulster bounce back from Cardiff Mauling", Sunday Independent, 3 December 1995 Ulster Ulster Elwood (3) ToppingField McCall McCall (5) Galway Sportsgrounds D. McHugh Connacht lineup: 1. Declan Kavanagh, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Ciaran Shanley, 4. Graham Heaslip, 5. J. O'Callaghan, 6. Rory Rogers, 7. Kevin Devlin (c), 8. Noel Mannion, 9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood, 11. Marcus O'Reilly, 12. Brian Carey, 13. R. Corrigan, 14. Michael Devine, 15. Peter Boland. L 2 December 1995 Leinster Leinster 41–9 ReportKieran Rooney, "Uneven Leinster on a roll after eighth win", Sunday Independent, 10 October 1995 Connacht Connacht O'Shea (2)HoganGavinMcGowan McGowan (2) McGowan (3)O'Shea Elwood (3) Donnybrook Stadium B. Smith Connacht lineup: 1. Declan Kavanagh, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Ciaran Shanley, 4. Graham Heaslip, 5. J. O'Callaghan, 6. Rory Rogers, 7. Kevin Devlin (c), 8. Noel Mannion, 9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood, 11. Marcus O'Reilly, 12. Brian Carey, 13. R. Corrigan, 14. Michael Devine, 15. Peter Boland. Replacements: Mervyn Murphy (for Carey, 62), Davie Henshaw (for Kavanagh, 66) L 23 December 1995 Connacht Connacht 11–46 Reporthttps://munsterrugby.ie/match-stats/?FixGuid=95CM3663 Connacht 11-46 Munster Munster Rugby 7 June 2019David Walsh, "Dethroned Munster run Connacht ragged", Sunday Independent, 24 December 1995 Munster Munster Heaslip Elwood (2) McIvorP. ClohessyCrottyD. ClohessyWalshL. Toland Smith (5) Smith (2) Galway Sportsgrounds A. Lewis Connacht lineup: 1. Declan Kavanagh, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Ciaran Shanley, 4. Graham Heaslip, 5. J. O'Callaghan, 6. Rory Rogers, 7. Kevin Devlin (c), 8. Noel Mannion, 9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood, 11. Marcus O'Reilly, 12. Brian Carey, 13. R. Corrigan, 14. Nigel Carolan, 15. Aidan White. Replacement: Mervyn Murphy (for Carey, 58) L Representative 4 November 1995 Connacht Connacht 21-20 ReportConnacht do this business without the mercenaries!", Connacht Sentinel, 7 November 1995 RSA Griqualand West ReddanMurphy Carey Carey (2) Carey RossHorn Marthinus (2) Marthinus (2) Galway Sportsgrounds Connacht lineup: 1. Declan Kavanagh, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Ciaran Shanley, 4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Noel Mannion, 6. P Tarpey, 7. Rory Rogers, 8. Kevin Devlin, 9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Brian Carey, 11. Marcus O'Reilly, 12. R. Corrigan, 13. Mervyn Murphy, 14. Michael Devine, 15. Peter Boland. W 17 November 1995 Connacht Connacht 27-5 "Marvellous boost for Connacht rugby", Tuam Herald, 18 November 1995 Fiji Fiji DevlinRogersDevine Elwood (3) Elwood (2) Sadria Galway Sportsgrounds Connacht lineup: 1. Declan Kavanagh, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Ciaran Shanley, 4. Grahan Heaslip, 5. Robert McCarthy, 6. Rory Rogers, 7. Noel Mannion, 8. Kevin Devlin, 9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood, 11. Marcus O'Reilly, 12. R. Corrigan, 13. Mervyn Murphy, 14. Michael Devine, 15. Aidan White. Replacements: Kenny Lawless (for Reddan), Neil Culliton (for McCarthy). W 16 December 1995 Connacht Connacht 16-22 SCO Glasgow District CullitonMannion Elwood (2) LittleWallaceBreckenridge MacGregor (2) MacGregor Galway Sportsgrounds Connacht lineup: 1. John Maher, 2. Kevin Tierney, 3. Davie Henshaw, 4. Robert McCarthy, 5. Chad O'Riordan, 6. Neil Culliton, 7. Noel Mannion (c), 8. Rory Rogers, 9. Kenny Lawless, 10. Brian Carey, 11. Aidan White, 12. Eric Elwood, 13. Mervyn Murphy, 14. Michael Devine, 15. Peter Boland. Replacements: Nigel Carolan (for Devine), Billy Mulcahy (for Tierney) L References 1995-96 Category:1995–96 in Irish rugby union