Connacht Rugby

Nickname	The Westerners
Founded	1885; 140 years ago (1885)
Location	Galway, Ireland
Ground	The Sportsground (Capacity: 8,129)
CEO	Willie Ruane
Coach	Stuart Lancaster
Captain	Cian Prendergast
Most appearances	John Muldoon (327)
Top scorer	Jack Carty (1,278)
Most tries	Matt Healy (58)
League	United Rugby Championship
2023–24	11th (Irish Shield: 4th)
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Official website
www.connachtrugby.ie
Current season

Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial men's rugby teams from the island of Ireland, based in Galway. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Connacht Branch, which is one of four primary branches of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), and is responsible for rugby union throughout the geographical Irish province of Connacht.

Connacht plays its home games at The Sportsground, which currently holds 6,126 spectators and can be expanded to 8,129.^[1] Connacht play in a predominantly green jersey, shorts and socks. The Connacht Rugby crest is a modified version of the provincial flag of Connacht and consists of a dimidiated eagle and an arm wielding a sword.

With the province containing just over 8% of the total Irish population, Connacht has a much smaller base of rugby union players to choose from than the other three provinces. This player base is also affected by the relative popularity of Gaelic Athletic Association sports such as hurling and Gaelic football.^[2] In the early years of professionalism, it was suggested that the Connacht team as a professional entity should be wound up, and fans had to demonstrate to save the province. However, rugby union in Connacht has expanded significantly with increased ticket sales and stadium expansion,^[3] in particular since its first season competing in the Heineken Cup.

Through the efforts of the Connacht Branch and the support of the IRFU, the province has experienced growth, increasing its underage and schools participation through initiatives such as the Grassroots to Greenshirts campaign.^[4] Connacht enjoyed their most significant senior success in 2016, when they defeated fellow Irish province Leinster in the 2016 Pro12 Grand Final to win the competition for the first time. In 2025, while their home stadium in Galway, The Sportsground, was partly closed for expansion works, Connacht agreed to move one URC match against Munster to MacHale Park, a 25,000 seat Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo.^[5] The match sold out in the space of two days and became the largest home attendance for a Connacht Rugby game in history.^[5]

While the senior men's team is most commonly associated with the Connacht Rugby brand, the province also organises a developmental 'A; side, which plays under a modified version of the brand. Before the creation of the Celtic Cup, the Connacht Eagles competed in the British and Irish Cup.

The provincial union also supports a senior women's team under the same Connacht Rugby branding, which takes part in the IRFU Women's Inter-Provincial Series and the Celtic Challenge under a combined Clovers branding with Munster Rugby.