Duncan Casey: Connacht have sown seeds by making rugby accessible and relatable

If each province could host one game of note in a different town each season, it would do more for the growth of the sport nationally than most people could fathom

Connacht's Bundee Aki signs autographs after the game Pic: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

Irish rugby stepped outside its urban comfort zone on Saturday as 27,000 people packed into MacHale Park, the home of Mayo GAA, to watch Connacht host Munster in a historic URC clash. Connacht appeared to have chosen the only ground in the country with more wind than the Sportsground as the venue for this special occasion but despite this, we were treated to an eight-try thriller, with no shortage of niggle, that went right down to the wire.

When we talk about Irish rugby needing to broaden its horizons to grow and diversify its playing pool, this is what we mean. I’m not naïve enough to think it’s straightforward to put together a spectacle like this in someone else’s stadium but that doesn’t change the fact that the formula is a simple one. The return on investment that comes from playing a one-off game of note in a place like Castlebar, Thurles, Kilkenny or Clones is huge.