Denis Buckley: From Connacht mascot to 200 appearances for province

Roscommon native Denis Buckley first ran out for a Connacht match as a mascot in 2002 alongside captain Eric Elwood - he then made his debut with Elwood as head coach

Connacht Rugby double centurion Denis Buckley. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

Roscommon native Denis Buckley first ran out for a Connacht match as a mascot in 2002 alongside captain Eric Elwood when he was 12 years old and nine years later he made his debut in the front row.

By then Elwood was head coach at the Sportsground as Buckley came on for the first of 199 appearances for his native province away to Treviso.

He returns to northern Italy this weekend when he is set to become the third Connacht player after John Muldoon and Michael Swift to hit the 200 mark. He should be joined there next season by Tiernan O’Halloran (190) and Kieran Marmion (185), but it is some milestone in a journey which began with the Creggs junior club in Roscommon, continued through Blackrock College and the Connacht academy.

“I was a big fan before that day but I was an even bigger one after that,” said Buckley, whose consistent performances for Connacht over the years never managed to catch the eye of Joe Schmidt or any other Irish coach.

Buckley’s performances though did attract attention from elsewhere but each time when contract talks came up, he opted to stay with Connacht.

“Over the years I have had one or two opportunities on the table that I seriously considered. But Connacht has shown a lot of loyalty to me and I have been loyal because this is where I’m from.

I really like playing for this team and I’m pretty happy with how things have worked out and the decisions I made in the past.

Connacht have an outside chance of making the Rainbow Cup final but to do so they will need five points in Italy against a Treviso side who seem determined to send Kiwi Kieran Crowley out on a high before he takes charge of the national squad and having lost all 16 PRO14 games this season, they have won all three in Rainbow Cup and are in the driving seat after two wins over Zebre and one against Glasgow.

Saturday’s game at Stadio Monigo will also mark the return of Bundee Aki for his first action since he was sent off against England in March and Buckley said they were thrilled when the Irish centre was called up for the Lions.

“Everyone was so happy when the Lions team was announced. He has missed games, so it just shows how good a player he is and how highly rated he is to get selected for the Lions.

“I reckon he’ll be an important player for the Lions, and an important person in their group,” added Buckley.