Connacht Rugby
Connacht Rugby - more commonly known as Connacht - is an Irish professional rugby union team based in the west of Ireland that competes in the Magners League and the European Challenge Cup. The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Connacht Branch, one of four branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish province of Connacht.

The team plays its home games at the Galway Sportsgrounds, which can hold 5,000 spectators though are expandable to 7,000 for important games. Connacht plays in a predominantly green jersey with some black, black shorts and green and black socks. The Connacht Rugby crest is a modified version of the provincial flag of Connacht and consists of a dimidiated (dimidiation) eagle and an arm wielding a sword.

Connacht has a much smaller base of rugby union players to choose from than the other three provinces due in part to its small population and the relative popularity of Gaelic Athletic Association sports such as hurling and Gaelic football. Connacht has only 7% of the total number of Irish rugby union players currently, however rugby union in Connacht has expanded in recent years, with a growing number of players involved and an increasing number of schools now playing the game.

Through the work of the Connacht Branch and the support of the IRFU the province over the last five years has had the largest growth in underage and schools participation in Ireland. Today it rivals soccer as the province's third most popular support.
www.connachtrugby.ie