New deals for Connacht trio

Connacht Rugby is delighted to confirm contract extensions for scrum half Frank Murphy, back row forward Mata Fifita and centre Brian Murphy.

The latest deals make it 21 players who have committed their future to the province in recent months.

Frank Murphy had a disappointing season with Connacht having suffered a cruciate ligament injury in the first away game away to Zebre back in September. The injury resulted in the scrum half being side-lined for the remainder of the season but Murphy has been working extremely hard in rehab for the last eight months and will be fighting fit for the beginning of pre-season in early June.

From Crosshaven, County Cork, Murphy joined Connacht in 2008 and is currently just four games shy of reaching the ‘100 cap’ milestone for the province.

The former UCC skipper, who has captained Connacht on a number of occasions, has penned a one-year deal with the club.

Mata Fifita has also put pen to paper on a one-year contract. The 24-year-old Tongan first signed for Connacht Rugby last summer when he was picked straight from AIL club side Sligo RFC.

Despite a knee injury that kept him out of action for a number of weeks, Fifita played eleven games for Connacht this season, including two European Cup fixtures, and also had a significant involvement with the Eagles’ side in this year’s British & Irish Cup.

Fifita came to Sligo at the beginning of the 2008 season when he played in the back row. He was soon tried in the centre - a transition he made with ease. In Connacht’s last three games, however, the versatile player has been brought on from the bench to cover the back row and has once again proven himself in this position. He has re-signed for the province as a back row forward.

The final re-signing this season comes for centre Brian Murphy. The 27-year-old from Headford made his senior debut for Connacht against the Cardiff Blues, playing a superb role in the 26-22 win at Arms Park – the first victory there in over 12 years. He held on to that starting berth for the remaining six games of the season and his performances earned him the Player of the Month award for March.

Brian joined Connacht Rugby last summer after his form with AIL side Galwegians RFC earned him a development contract with the province. He now progresses to a one year senior contract.

Commenting on the recent re-signings, CEO Tom Sears said:

“We are very pleased that Frank, Mata and Brian will be with us next season and all have a significant role to play. Frank has endured a tough year with injury but will be desperate to make up for lost time. Mata and Brian enjoyed a good start to their careers with Connacht and have shown they have what it takes to make a real contribution to the squad and they will no doubt build on successful first seasons.”

The following players have all signed new contracts recently:

Rodney Ah You, Denis Buckley, Aaron Conneely, JP Cooney, Mata Fifita, Jason Harris-Wright, Matt Healy, Dave Heffernan, Robbie Henshaw, Mick Kearney, Ronan Loughney, Kieran Marmion, Eoin McKeon, Dave McSharry, Brian Murphy, Frank Murphy, George Naoupu, Miah Nikora, Danny Qualter, Michael Swift, and Brett Wilkinson.

Connacht Rugby would like to thank the following outgoing players for their contribution over the last number of seasons:

TJ Anderson (Ealing Trailfinders RFC), Dave Gannon, Eoghan Grace (Plymouth RFC), Matthew Jarvis (Nottingham RFC), James Loxton, Mike McCarthy (Leinster Rugby), Dave Moore, Ethienne Reynecke, Fetu’u Vainikolo (Exeter Chiefs), Mark McCrea (Jersey).

Retired: Adrian Flavin, Johnny O’Connor

That's not done yet, could end up at Bayonne

ruckin_hell wrote: This boy looks explosive, Tongan prop Opeti Fonua with Agen who just got relegated from the Top14. I'm sure Mr.Lam would like his style on the ball. Could do with another prop around.

www.rugbydump.com/2013/05/3172/jonny-wil...-by-huge-opeti-fonua

signed for scarlets. heard rte say it during ulster vs scarlets

Agree, but we're only light in some specific areas : 2nd and Back row are ok, the backs are even in excess if we want to give gametime to promising talent.
I know some of our 1st choices are injury prone, but there's plenty of quality solutions, for example : Griff injured, we've Sinoti and Henshaw (that's the purpose of "utility backs"), and Finn, who had semi-pro experiences and trainning this year.. that's the purpose of B&I cup, make young player aviable for ponctual 1st team apparation!

I rather think the real problem remains in three specific areas :
Hooker (even our 2nd choice hasn't prove to fit in european level, true in a larger extent for the 3rd and 4th)
Outhalf (Parks is the sure option, and yet is not reliable all the time and is getting older)
Scrum Half (Same problem, Marmion is still young and could have a bad patch, and there, we will have to rely on a Murphy comeback or pray Walsh reveals himself in the full light of day.

we must be even more worry about the 3 position that they influence the game run (lineouts, breakdown, timmming etc.)

That's what I call a pretty decent squad

LH - Wilkinson, Buckley

TH - White, Loughney

Hooker - Harris-Wright, Henry,

Second Row - Swift, Clarke, Muldowney, Kearney,

Flanker - Muldoon, Faloon, , Heenan, Browne

No. 8 - George, McKeon

Scrum Half - Marmion, Murphy

Fly Half - Parks, Ronaldson

Centre - McSharry, Griffin, Tonetti

Wing - O'Halloran, Carr, Poolman, Sinoti

Fullback - Duffy, Henshaw,

B&I cup

Ah You (Bealham)
Cooney (Dever, Reilly)
Rael (Haffernan)
Qualter (Gardiner)
O'Brien (Dilane)
Fafita (Kenny)
Conneely (Earle)
Butterworth (Maxwell)

POD (Walsh, Blade)
Nikora (Carty)
B. Murphy (T. Leader)
Finn (Roche)
Healy (Parata)
Layden (Panter)
Mc Auley (D Leader)

It's decent but fallow. There's a huge drop-off in quality/experience between 2nd and 3rd choice. If we get a large amount of injuries like we did at the start of the season (which I don't think was down entirely to just bad luck) then once again we could have problems. I hope not obviously but it's a small squad for a demanding league. I think it shows that Lam has to bring more young guys through to give him more options. Touch wood its at his own choosing and not because he's forced to because of injury.

P.S. Gardiner is gone from us.

That's what I call a pretty decent squad

LH - Wilkinson, Buckley

TH - White, Loughney

Hooker - Harris-Wright, Henry,

Second Row - Swift, Clarke, Muldowney, Kearney,

Flanker - Muldoon, Faloon, , Heenan, Browne

No. 8 - George, McKeon

Scrum Half - Marmion, Murphy

Fly Half - Parks, Ronaldson

Centre - McSharry, Griffin, Tonetti

Wing - O'Halloran, Carr, Poolman, Sinoti

Fullback - Duffy, Henshaw,

B&I cup

Ah You (Bealham)
Cooney (Dever, Reilly)
Rael (Haffernan)
Qualter (Gardiner)
O'Brien (Dilane)
Fafita (Kenny)
Conneely (Earle)
Butterworth (Maxwell)

POD (Walsh, Blade)
Nikora (Carty)
B. Murphy (T. Leader)
Finn (Roche)
Healy (Parata)
Layden (Panter)
Mc Auley (D Leader)

its_phil wrote:

sea_point wrote:

its_phil wrote:

sea_point wrote:

ummm, wrote: <strong>I think it's more of a case that it's up to the teams that are signing our players to make the annoucements, not us. In the case of players retiring we've already had the annoucements.</strong>

If I'm right then I think that would be fair. We always like to hear about who we've signed and lets be honest, we've heard about Sinoti but we're still all very cagey about it and it will take an annoucement from Sears & Co before we really believe it.

Also, you never know when things might not work out. We'd look silly if we annouced Fets was leaving only for his transfer to fall apart at the last minute. Best to wait until the other team has made it official.

Not really, if they're out of contract and no longer Connacht Players then why not be up front about it. Sure it's good PR for the players if the media pick up the story in case there are any clubs that are not aware that they are on the market...

With Fet's, pretty clear from his tweets that he want's to stay but is being released. The only thing that might have changed that was one of our prospective signings dropping out at the last minute or Fionn Carr getting a serious injury. It's unclear whether it's a money issue or Pat Lam exercising some control of the shape of his future squad though...

On the Sinoti thing, he's been on radio silence on Twitter since the end of March, could mean his Italian mobile contract has eneded and he's waiting on his Irish one..... :whistle:

You do that when your squad is finalised for the next year. Ours is not finalised,and last year I think Poolman was the only one after announcing releases. If players are needing Connacht to publicise their release so clubs are aware, they quickly need to change agent

Nope not relevant to departing players, radio silence is only required for incoming. For departing players once it's agreed that they will not be re-signed and there are no more fixtures left it's perfectly safe to announce that the player/s will be leaving.

And I wasn't suggesting that they needed Connacht to publicise their availability, just that it would do no harm.....

Why does it need to be released? What is the rush? Our squad has not been finalised and the likes of Brian Murphy, he probably will from what I am told, as of last week had not been offered a new contract yet. Why release a statement saying who is leaving before finishing our final squad and the branch thereby creating unnecessary speculation by leaving some names out of the list who we know are in the final year of their contract. If your still negotiating with players why tell the world? When it is finalized announce the list, as of yet leave it.

It is more likely to create problems than solutions

You seem to be missing the point completely , we're not talking about players currently in negotiations we are talking players where the talks are finished, no contract is ensuing and they are out of contract...

I never said give us updates about current contract negotiations, but where it been decided already that a player is being released and it has been confirmed to him then let us know asap so that supporters can at least plan a goodbye. The Fet's thing was a joke frankly, regardless of whether negotiations with Chiefs had been concluded Connacht could very have easily put out a statement saying that he wasn't part of the plans for next season and wishing him well a couple of weeks before the Exeter announcement and Fet's jumping on a plane to NZ for a holiday...

There has been no acknowledgment as yet from Connacht Rugby that he has in fact left their employment...

Frank said he was going to be around next season.

You took the words right out of my mouth

So that's Sinoti and that young Kiwi as good as confirmed. Assume Murphy's Frank and Brian re-signing too. Anyone know if Fifita's being kept?

More signings to come for Connacht Rugby

Connacht Rugby is pleased to announce that the signing of two new players will be finalised in the very near future.

Chief Executive Tom Sears and incoming Head Coach Pat Lam have been working hard off the field to secure these signings and can confirm that they expect to be adding an outstanding young back row forward and a versatile international player to the back line for 2013/14.

In addition, there are further Connacht re-signings to be announced in the coming weeks.

CEO Tom Sears said:

“Our squad recruitment and retention programme for next season has gone very well. We had a few areas we were working on but we are pleased to say that our plans are now falling into place.

“The fact that these new players, as well as the likes of Craig Clarke, Aly Muldowney and Fionn Carr have chosen to commit to Connacht is a clear sign of the progress we have made and our intent going forward. We have signed some top quality experienced players and some exciting young talent with real potential.

“As well as that, we have extended the contracts of many of our key senior players in the last few months – a true indication that there is a real belief amongst the squad in what we are trying to achieve here at Connacht.

“Since his appointment Pat has been very much involved in our retention and recruitment programme along with Eric and the rest of the coaching and academy staff. We have been reviewing our squad depth, looking at succession planning, the players coming through our academy and identifying players we want to bring in at senior and academy level both for next season and in future years to ensure we build the best squad possible.

“We have now put the finishing touches to the squad for the season ahead and these signings will be announced very shortly. Our talent identification and recruitment programme is a year round operation and we are constantly identifying and assessing players who we believe can take Connacht forward. Developing players through our academy system and signing the best players from outside our system, whether within Ireland or internationally, is fundamental to what we want to achieve. It has been successful this year and with the systems and networks we are putting in place we expect to further improve our squad year on year.”

sea_point wrote:

its_phil wrote:

sea_point wrote:

ummm, wrote: <strong>I think it's more of a case that it's up to the teams that are signing our players to make the annoucements, not us. In the case of players retiring we've already had the annoucements.</strong>

If I'm right then I think that would be fair. We always like to hear about who we've signed and lets be honest, we've heard about Sinoti but we're still all very cagey about it and it will take an annoucement from Sears & Co before we really believe it.

Also, you never know when things might not work out. We'd look silly if we annouced Fets was leaving only for his transfer to fall apart at the last minute. Best to wait until the other team has made it official.

Not really, if they're out of contract and no longer Connacht Players then why not be up front about it. Sure it's good PR for the players if the media pick up the story in case there are any clubs that are not aware that they are on the market...

With Fet's, pretty clear from his tweets that he want's to stay but is being released. The only thing that might have changed that was one of our prospective signings dropping out at the last minute or Fionn Carr getting a serious injury. It's unclear whether it's a money issue or Pat Lam exercising some control of the shape of his future squad though...

On the Sinoti thing, he's been on radio silence on Twitter since the end of March, could mean his Italian mobile contract has eneded and he's waiting on his Irish one..... :whistle:

You do that when your squad is finalised for the next year. Ours is not finalised,and last year I think Poolman was the only one after announcing releases. If players are needing Connacht to publicise their release so clubs are aware, they quickly need to change agent

Nope not relevant to departing players, radio silence is only required for incoming. For departing players once it's agreed that they will not be re-signed and there are no more fixtures left it's perfectly safe to announce that the player/s will be leaving.

And I wasn't suggesting that they needed Connacht to publicise their availability, just that it would do no harm.....

Why does it need to be released? What is the rush? Our squad has not been finalised and the likes of Brian Murphy, he probably will from what I am told, as of last week had not been offered a new contract yet. Why release a statement saying who is leaving before finishing our final squad and the branch thereby creating unnecessary speculation by leaving some names out of the list who we know are in the final year of their contract. If your still negotiating with players why tell the world? When it is finalized announce the list, as of yet leave it.

It is more likely to create problems than solutions

its_phil wrote:

sea_point wrote:

ummm, wrote: <strong>I think it's more of a case that it's up to the teams that are signing our players to make the annoucements, not us. In the case of players retiring we've already had the annoucements.</strong>

If I'm right then I think that would be fair. We always like to hear about who we've signed and lets be honest, we've heard about Sinoti but we're still all very cagey about it and it will take an annoucement from Sears & Co before we really believe it.

Also, you never know when things might not work out. We'd look silly if we annouced Fets was leaving only for his transfer to fall apart at the last minute. Best to wait until the other team has made it official.

Not really, if they're out of contract and no longer Connacht Players then why not be up front about it. Sure it's good PR for the players if the media pick up the story in case there are any clubs that are not aware that they are on the market...

With Fet's, pretty clear from his tweets that he want's to stay but is being released. The only thing that might have changed that was one of our prospective signings dropping out at the last minute or Fionn Carr getting a serious injury. It's unclear whether it's a money issue or Pat Lam exercising some control of the shape of his future squad though...

On the Sinoti thing, he's been on radio silence on Twitter since the end of March, could mean his Italian mobile contract has eneded and he's waiting on his Irish one..... :whistle:

You do that when your squad is finalised for the next year. Ours is not finalised,and last year I think Poolman was the only one after announcing releases. If players are needing Connacht to publicise their release so clubs are aware, they quickly need to change agent

Nope not relevant to departing players, radio silence is only required for incoming. For departing players once it's agreed that they will not be re-signed and there are no more fixtures left it's perfectly safe to announce that the player/s will be leaving.

And I wasn't suggesting that they needed Connacht to publicise their availability, just that it would do no harm.....

Gavin Malouf will be returning to replace foxy as head physio. Good to see him coming back. He still knows about a good few of the players and knows the setup although a lot has changed in 3 years.

www.connachtrugby.ie/2010012682102/goodbye-to-physio-gav

Decadence wrote: Fetu'u to Exeter confirmed

www1.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/1908...ht-for-Exeter-Chiefs

Delighted for him, another good local club.

Best of luck to fetu and mike forshaw.

Perhaps the delay in sinoti announcement is down to work visa delays?