Connacht boosted by Hagan’s desire to stay

CONNACHT coach Eric Elwood has received some timely good news ahead of the province’s Amlin Challenge Cup tie with Bayonne on Saturday with tighthead prop Jamie Hagan signing a new two year contract to stay at the Sportsground.

The Dublin native had been strongly linked with a return to Leinster — Connacht winger Fionn Carr and hooker Sean Cronin will be heading to the RDS in the summer — but Hagan yesterday committed his future to Connacht.

“It is a great boost. Tighthead props are hard to find and Jamie has a lot of potential,” said Elwood, who coached Hagan at Ireland U-20 level.

“We will build a team around players like Jamie and hopefully he will go on from here and become a full Irish international as a Connacht player,” added Elwood.

With Carr and Cronin heading to Leinster and out-half Ian Keatley moving to Munster, Hagan’s decision to stay is a further boost to Elwood after a trio of signings last week.

George Naoupu, a towering No. 8 who transformed Connacht’s season last year before moving to Japan, has confirmed he is returning while Elwood also last week secured the services of Ulster pair Niall O’Connor and Mark McCrea for next season.