Not quite a love affair between Connacht and the Challenge Cup

CHANCE AWAITS: Ciaran Booth and Tom Farrell. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie

It is a road well-travelled but a journey never completed. Connacht and the Challenge Cup. Inseparable for years, mainly because the IRFU put only the other three provinces into the Heineken Cup and then when meritocracy finally came into it, Connacht dipped in and out of Europe’s elite competition.

They enjoyed seven seasons in the Champions Cup and while they never made it through to the business end, they enjoyed a few notable successes, not least their astonishing 16-14 win in Toulouse in 2013 and home wins over the same opposition, Wasps and Stade Francais.