'There's a huge amount of excitement': foundations in place for Connacht to improve

Stuart Lancaster has instilled a belief within his squad that they are better than the results they produced in 2024-25.

Kildare's Jordan Duggan and Cian Prendergast at Connacht traing. Photo: ©INPHO/James Crombie

If building a successful rugby team is like completing a jigsaw, as Stuart Lancaster alluded to earlier this week, then his new outfit at Connacht is at least starting with all the correct pieces.

With the redevelopment of Dexcom Stadium nearing completion with the finishing touches being put on the new 7,000-capacity main stand which replaced the ramshackle but atmospheric Clan Terrace, and a state of the art High Performance Centre no up and running behind it, the westerners have the foundations - let’s call them the edges of the puzzle to stretch Lancaster’s analogy a little further – on which to rebuild a team that underperformed so alarmingly last season.