Connacht Rugby chiefs say hit to sporting bodies pales beside threat to human life

Despite all the uncertainty as to what will happen their calendar of sporting fixtures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Connacht Rugby stresses the most important thing at this moment in time is saving people’s lives.

The Sportsground shut its gate in compliance with Government regulations in relation to Covid-19 late last week, sidelining Galway’s premier professional sporting organisation. However, Connacht’s Communications Manager, Brendan Loughnane, has allayed fears that this may have a detrimental effect – financially and otherwise – on the provincial side.

“For us, we are obviously under directive from the IRFU, that once the [PRO14] league was suspended, to effectively shut down the training and have no group training, similar to what the other organisations are doing. So, we are working on a week-by-week basis and that is where we are on that. In terms of the long term, we just don’t know what the plan will be.

“So, it is the uncertainty more than anything else. We don’t know when the league will start up again or what the plan is for the remainder of the season. The rugby calendar is very structured – no more than the GAA – and you know the weeks on and the weeks off. Everyone plans around those. So, there are a lot of challenges.”

As it stands, Connacht’s players have all been given strength and conditioning programmes to do at home although, Loughnane notes, these programmes are largely generic as the coaches “don’t know what they are priming the players for”.

“Are they priming them to play games in three weeks or three months? That is where the uncertainty comes in.”

This uncertainty also extends to the greater organisation of Connacht Rugby but Loughnane quickly dismisses any fears that the lack of ticket sales and other revenue due to the cancellation of games will lead to financial difficulties at the organisation, at least in the immediate future.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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