Decadence wrote: Pretty much. We have one of the lowest budgets in Europe, apart from our own gate takings and sponsorship I believe everything else comes from the IRFU. A lot of other teams have bigger squads.

In terms of reported squad sizes for all the provinces, a higher number of Connacht players would be on Development / Academy contracts. rather than on more costly full time contracts or as Dec mentioned IRFU Central contracts for (some ) Irish squad members (the likes of Henshaw or other locked in Internationals).

Connacht can re-negotiate a contract early (and regularly do), if there is a risk of losing a player who shows lots of promise and is progressing quickly who is on an Academy/Development contract and migh be lured away by another province/ foreign side e.g. Henshaw, Marmion, Buckley, Masterson in seasons past.....

Pretty much. We have one of the lowest budgets in Europe, apart from our own gate takings and sponsorship I believe everything else comes from the IRFU. A lot of other teams have bigger squads.

Thanks for the reply! So is the size of our squad based on economics?

Hi Eagle, when a player signs for Connacht they're usually given a 2 or 3 year contract. When that contract runs out they're free to do what they like, Connacht can try to resign them but if they decide to go elsewhere that's their choice. Some international players are on central contracts with the IRFU which means that the IRFU pays their wages and they play for one of the provinces. According to David Nucifora, in Robbies case he can play for whatever province he wants.

For more info on who's contracts are up this year check out the stats section

Hello,
We are new to the forum and relatively new supporters of connacht and are loving the experience. The threads on here are great for increasing interest in whats going on, but to a newcomer its all a bit confusing regarding players coming and going. Does anybody have the time to give us a simple explanation as to how the decision making process works, it appears it is not just down to Connacht's managers? Thanks