haha this is the best time to be reading, i love my peace.

when he came, we knew he moves on very quick.

Chief Executive
Connacht Rugby
Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Sports industry
July 2012 – Present (1 year 3 months) Galway

Chief Executive
Cricket Kenya
July 2010 – July 2012 (2 years 1 month)

Business Development
New Zealand Cricket
Nonprofit; 201-500 employees; Sports industry
2008 – 2010 (2 years)

Chief Executive
Derbyshire CCC
2005 – 2008 (3 years)

Commercial Director
Worcestershire CCC
2000 – 2005 (5 years)

Communications and Marketing Manager
Northampton Saints
Privately Held; 10,001+ employees; Individual & Family Services industry
1998 – 2000 (2 years)

Communications Executive
Rugby Football Union
Nonprofit; 201-500 employees; Sports industry
1997 – 1999 (2 years)

Go to bed swifty lol.

Wonder was he too outspoken for irfu.

i guess a man who was important in signing so many players, i might as well put his departure in here.

Tom Sears is to leave his position as chief executive of the Connacht Branch by mutual consent after a little over a year in the job. Negotiations are in place between Sears and the IRFU with a statement scheduled for later this week or early next week.
The development is decidedly unhelpful for Connacht, on foot of Pat Lam’s appointment to succeed Eric Elwood as head coach at the end of last season.
Amid expansion off the pitch, there have also been other comings and goings inside the organisation in the last year or two, along with the establishment of a Professional Games Board, for whom this development is also a setback.

Timing could be worse
Against that, the timing could be worse in that at least the season is up and running, and all playing and coaching contracts are in place.
It is anticipated the IRFU and Connacht will appoint an interim CEO from either the Union or the Branch, or the PGB, while beginning the search for a full-time successor to Sears.
The 44-year-old Sears was appointed on May 1st last year in succession to Gerry Kelly after the latter’s retirement. A journalist in the 1990s, he previously held roles in the communications and commercial areas for both the RFU and Northampton Saints, before moving to cricket in 2000, as the commercial director for Worcestershire County Cricket Club and then as chief executive of Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 2005.
Appointed as the head of business development for New Zealand Cricket in 2008, Sears moved on to become the Cricket Kenya CEO in 2010, stepping down from that position to take up his appointment with Connacht.
Sears’ most notable contribution was leading the process which culminated in the choice of Lam as successor to Elwood, and he was certainly a more vocal Connacht chief executive, incurring the wrath of Leinster and especially Joe Schmidt for his critique of their signing of Mike McCarthy, and wasn’t shy about stating the province’s ambitions.
This latest development comes in the week IRFU chief executive Philip Browne responded to a reported budget over-run in Connacht of reputedly €450,000-plus.
There is no suggestion Sears’ departure is in any way connected with the budget over-run.

Gerry Thornley, Irish Times

www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/connacht-...t&utm_medium=twitter

Darragh507 wrote: Funny thing is it really is not that much. there will be a tangible reason for this spend and a plan to reign it back in. Philip Browne has confirmed it is over three years.

most people call it doing business, but the sensationalists in the indo like to beat down.

I would not be in the slightest worried about it folks.

Agree completely

Funny thing is it really is not that much. there will be a tangible reason for this spend and a plan to reign it back in. Philip Browne has confirmed it is over three years.

most people call it doing business, but the sensationalists in the indo like to beat down.

I would not be in the slightest worried about it folks.

sea_point wrote: Ok, have pulled all the comments relating to this from the Zebre match thread into this. For me, personally I'll wait until someone can show me a P/L (Profit/Loss) sheet before I believe a journo in the bloody Indo.

i.imgflip.com/3iibr.jpg

From what ive heard there is an overspend and they are not happy about it. sounds like someone went on a solo run.

I'd feel equally suspect if it was the Daily Mail, even if they do sponsor Connacht.....

Regardless of bias, the fact that the claim is made in the Indo (rather than a newspaper) does diminish it's likely validity considerably in most reasonable peoples eyes...

Fanning isn't one of the anti connacht gang, he's just reporting what he was told by his source. I'd be far more concerned about someone in the irfu briefing against the pgb; next step is taking us back under central control and reducing us to our previous development status.

I think people might be getting a little paranoid at the moment.

No the Independent isn't exactly our friend, but there isn't nothing anti-Connacht about reporting the overspend, as long as they stick to the facts, because whether we like it or not it is newsworthy. We know about the other provinces posting losses, because that was in the media too.

Oh that's just Francis doing his George Hook impression. Curmudgeonly old fart with a rose tinted "in my day..." nostaliga and a complete lack of touch with modern day.

I thought we had a Neil Francis Thread previously, but cannot find it. So will post this here as it is also relevent about the indo:

I am at a lose with this article

www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/neil-fran...f-good-29561542.html

Agreed they'll try and find any but of dirt and throw it at us over the next few years because there precious Eddie wasn't given an interview. Talk about childish behaviour!

Ok, have pulled all the comments relating to this from the Zebre match thread into this. For me, personally I'll wait until someone can show me a P/L (Profit/Loss) sheet before I believe a journo in the bloody Indo.

I'm no financial expert, but I can't help but notice the difference in terms used between "overspend" and "posted a loss". I could guess what the differences are, but I'd rather not.