Harlequins Oct. 20th @ The Sportsground

rossie wrote: I was at the Aironi game swifty and that was a fiddle on the attendance figure if ever there was one.

I thought all Rabo attendances for all clubs were fiddles i.e. season tickets included regardless of actual attendance?

salmson wrote:

rossie wrote: I was at the Aironi game swifty and that was a fiddle on the attendance figure if ever there was one.

I thought all Rabo attendances for all clubs were fiddles i.e. season tickets included regardless of actual attendance?

They are

@sol, they said only clan tickets that are left are ones that come with the tent package.

Heineken Cup rugby is back in Connacht! And this Saturday 20th October, we welcome back old rivals and English Champions, Harlequins. Were you there on that momentous night last January when Connacht defeated Conor O’Shea’s side to knock them out of the competition? This weekend, the London outfit return as domestic champions and will be seeking to avenge their January defeat. But we have never been more ready, and as Eric and the boys showed in Parma on Saturday; this time we’re ready for seconds.

It’s been a phenomenal few days for everyone involved with the club, kicking off last Wednesday with the screening of “The Wests Awake” which saw a massive 273,000 people tune in from around the country.

We then got our 2012/13 Heineken Cup campaign off to the best possible start with an away win over Zebre in Italy. A large contingent of Connacht fans made that journey to Parma and cheered on Eric Elwood and his men as they logged their first win on the road in the European competition.

Man of the Match and try-scorer John Muldoon was thrilled with the support: “It was amazing to see that so many Connacht supporters had travelled to Italy at the weekend. It shows how far the club has come. We could hear them throughout the entire game and it definitely drove us on in the second half. We can’t wait to play in front of a packed out Sportsground this weekend in our first home Heineken Cup game.”

Last week over 273,000 people tuned in to watch the premiere of our documentary ‘The West’s Awake’ and we have had an incredible response from the Irish public both at home and abroad who were moved by the passion and commitment from players and coaches revealed in the hour-long feature. Equally TG4 have been blown away by the reaction after the show recorded one of their biggest ever audiences this year for a non-live sporting event.

The two events have seen a remarkable surge in demand for tickets and Head of Marketing Alex Saul expects the fixture this weekend to be one of the highlights of the season. “We’ve seen sales surge in the last week and the win in Parma has seen figures kick on again. As things stand the Clan Terrace and Enclosed Stand are now sold out and we expect to have the second biggest attendance for a Connacht Rugby fixture, second only to Toulouse”.

“There are only a few hundred tickets remaining in the extended main terrace and it looks like the Heineken Cup has captured the imagination of the whole province once again. Everyone at the club is looking forward to a special night and we all know that this tournament is capable of throwing up some of the best battles in world rugby”.

Sol_ie wrote: Amazing that only, at best, one in thirty or thirty five people that watched the documentary will come out to the match.

Connacht attendances - at last years level - are pretty healthy when compared to the other provinces.

	Leinster	Munster	Ulster	Connacht
Average Attendance*	20,860	17,108	8,544	5,060
Population**	2,461,732	1,246,088	2,106,296	585,629
Average Attendance Per 1000 Population	8.47	13.73	4.06	8.64

* Average Attendance is home attendance 2011/12 for regular season games only, it does not include RaboDirect playoffs or HEC knockout stages.

** Population figures as per ROI and NI census figures. Leinster population adjusted downward by half the population of Westmeath, Connacht population adjusted upward by half the population of Westmeath.

Sol_ie wrote: Amazing that only, at best, one in thirty or thirty five people that watched the documentary will come out to the match.

What were the viewing figures for the documentary?

First run midweek got >270,000 but I don't know what the figurs for the repeat were.

Sol_ie wrote: I'm shocked that Ulster has such a low ratio

If you lob out Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan and 43% of the population of Norn Iron, then the figures wouldn't look that bad at all.

So you'd think then that Ulster would have the greatest scope for increase but their attendances have been flat or down since the middle of the last decade. If they can't seriously boost supporter numbers with the current team you'd wonder how they will.

Edit: Compared with the "same" 4 fixtures last year - Connacht, Munster, opener against Glasgow and first home HEC match (also against French opposition) - Ulster are up about 1500 per game or 18%. Very small sample though but looking good so far.

Word from Quins is that James Johnston their vastly improved TH could be missing this one through injury.

If true then this along with Evans missing would be a massive boost to us

Team that will be announced at lunchtime is:

1. Buckley
2. Flavin
3. White
4. Swift
5. McCarthy
6. Muldoon
7. O Connor
8. Naoupu
9. Marmion
10. Parks
11. Vainikolo
12. McSharry
13. Griffin
14. O'Halloran
15. Henshaw

16. Harris Wright
17. Wilkinson
18. Loughney
19. Gannon
20. Faloon
21. Moore
22. Nikora
23. Fifita


Reyneke injured

Good team I reckon. Strength on the bench too, mainly in the pack.

This thread has been fairly quiet generally. I'm really looking forward to the game though. Anyone want to make a scoreline prediction?

I'll let my heart rule over my head and say a Connacht victory. 19-11.

HARLEQUINS TEAM TO FACE CONNACHTHarlequins have named their team to face Connacht at the Sportsground in Round 2 of Pool 3 of the Heineken Cup tomorrow evening (kick-off 6.00pm).There are two changes to the starting line-up of the team which defeated Biarritz Olypmique last weekend, with Sam Smith replacing Ugo Monye. The winger suffered an ankle injury and is expected to return for the London Irish game.

Ben Botica, who marked his second senior appearance for the club last week by kicking 18 points, will make his starting debut in Galway, replacing Nick Evans who was also taken off last week with an ankle injury.

Among the replacements, Dave Ward will look to make his second appearance while Rory Clegg and Seb Stegmann cover the backline.

Harlequins team
15. Mike Brown
14. Tom Williams
13. Matt Hopper
12. Jordan Turner-Hall
11. Sam Smith
10. Ben Botica
9. Danny Care

1. Joe Marler
2. Rob Buchanan
3. James Johnston
4. Olly Kohn
5. George Robson
6. Maurie Fa'asavalu
7. Chris Robshaw (C)
8. Nick Easter

Replacements

16. Dave Ward
17. Mark Lambert
18. Will Collier
19. Charlie Matthews
20. Tom Guest
21. Karl Dickson
22. Rory Clegg
23. Seb Stegmann

One change up front for Quins clash

Eric Elwood has named his team to face Harlequins in tomorrow’s Heineken Cup round 2 fixture at the Sportsground,

There is only one change to the starting XV following last week’s 19-10 victory over Zebre in Italy.

Hooker Ethienne Reynecke, who injured his calf in the closing stages of the Zebre game, will be replaced by Adrian Flavin in the front row.

There are no changes to the backs, with Dave McSharry, who will earn his 20th cap for the province, and Eoin Griffin retaining their centre partnership.

On the bench, we see Brett Wilkinson return to the squad from B&I Cup duty last week. He joins Jason Harris-Wright and Ronan Loughney as the front row replacements. Dave Moore and Mata Fifita, both of whom made an appearance in last week’s opening Heineken Cup fixture, are joined by Miah Nikora in the replacement backs.

KO at the Sportsground is at 6pm.

Connacht XV:

15 Robbie Henshaw

14 Tiernan O’Halloran

13 Eoin Griffin

12 Dave McSharry

11 Fetu’u Vainikolo

10 Dan Parks

9 Kieran Marmion

1 Denis Buckley

2 Adrian Flavin

3 Nathan White (C)

4 Michael Swift

5 Mike McCarthy

6 John Muldoon

7 Willie Faloon

8 George Naoupu

Replacements (from):

16 Jason Harris-Wright

17 Brett Wilkinson

18 Ronan Loughney

19 Dave Gannon

20 Johnny O’Connor

21 Dave Moore

22 Miah Nikora

23 Mata Fifita

I think quin's form is too good for us at the moment. I don't think we'll get a result from this one but I really hope I'm wrong