James So’oialo exit leaves Connacht in even worse pickle as Toulouse loom

The stark difference between how Connacht operate and how the other Irish provinces do so is best exemplified by James So’oialo’s premature departure and Danie Poolman’s injury.

Having taken an age to get the Samoan a work permit, So’oialo didn’t take to Galway, departing for home in October. That meant Connacht’s answer to Zane Kirchner and Casey Laulala was gone and will probably not be replaced until next summer.

“We tried bringing in the right player but didn’t want to panic by filling the spot with just anyone,” explains Tim Allnutt, Connacht’s long-serving manager. “Everyone we did approach was tied in for the season.

“We are still actively interested in filling that foreigner spot in our squad but it is bloody hard to find the right calibre of player.”

A few weeks earlier Leinster lost Richardt Strauss for several months due to a heart condition. A new hooker is landing in Dublin any day now.

South African winger Poolman is crocked for three months but no funds exist at Connacht to entice a short-term remedy.

“With Danie Poolman, obviously we are annoyed to have lost him to injury for three months, but we don’t have the finances to do that.”

There is no wherewithal in the player budget to recruit even a lesser version of Brad Thorn or Lote Tuqiri in the event of injury?

Battle through
"Not really. There is a lot involved in such a deal in terms of cost and getting a work permit. The IRFU have assisted where possible but we have just got to battle through."

Operating without a chief executive and with an infirmary full of soldiers, Sunday’s assault on the daunting Stade Ernest Wallon comes off just two victories from 11 games.

One decision made by head coach Pat Lam has been to install Craig Clarke as “on-field captain”. It’s safe to assume Clarke will assume something similar to the leadership role that helped the Chiefs deliver back-to-back Super Rugby titles in 2012 and 2013.

“Some players just have an aura about them,” Allnutt continues. “Pat was dead right; we could have been tempted to do it earlier because of who Craig is and what he has achieved [in New Zealand] but we have some really experienced players here.

“I think Craig needed to come in and meet everyone and get settled in, learn the patterns, learn about Connacht, learn about the opposition and the competition we are playing in and gain the squad’s respect, which didn’t take too long.

“Now that he has done all that and played some pretty good rugby since he has been here, handing him the on-field responsibilities makes sense.”

Following the departure of CEO Tom Sears last September, Kevin Potts – the IRFU director of corporate affairs – has been doing a few days a week in Galway until a suitable replacement is unearthed (the application window has closed).

Making do
In the meantime, Allnutt and the staff are making do.

“We have departments that can run professional rugby and myself and Pat are looking after the pro game. With Kevin here we run things past him and get his assistance and we’ve also got some pretty strong characters on the PGB (professional game board) that we get direction from.

“It is good to have a CEO but, to be honest, it is not a huge issue. Results haven’t gone our way but we have just got to keep battling on.”

The concern is whether Connacht can make a compelling case to attract a suitable replacement for So’oialo.

“Squad-wise, we have things in place, we have a contract committee who meet and that’s ongoing. We are trying to sort out who we are looking at and who we are adding and who we are taking away from the squad – all the provinces are doing the same.

“Yeah, that’s a key contract. Any foreign player must really add to the squad. We have done some good work with the recruiting of our younger players. We just got to keep going.”

At least Robbie Henshaw has been confirmed fit, having hurt his ankle in Edinburgh, to face Toulouse. Any silver lining will do at the moment.