GERRY THORNLEYtalks to Connacht's captain who views the Challenge Cup as the best route to their Holy Grail, qualifying for the Heineken Cup

AT THIS stage of the season, Connacht are normally counting the days to summer while retaining, at best, an outside mathematical challenge to qualify for the Heineken Cup for the first time ever. Now though, they still have three routes into Europe’s blue-riband competition.

They can still qualify through the Magners League by dint of finishing above Ulster, whom they trailed by four points going into this weekend’s matches; by winning the Amlin Challenge Cup, or can do so with Ulster should either Leinster or Munster gain an additional place for Ireland by winning the Heineken Cup.

None of this would have seemed possible when Connacht lost limply by 30-6 to Ulster at the Sportsground last September. They’ve had a few disappointments over the years but the way John Muldoon recalls it, that was a particularly low ebb.

Having beaten Cardiff a week before, they had put pressure on themselves to perform and failed to do so. “I tell you that was a really depressing day for everyone,” recalls the Connacht captain. “There’s been bad days, but that did hurt a lot. There’s been no magic formula since, just a lot of small things we’ve tried to change over the season and I think we’ve put a bit more pressure on ourselves and demanded more of each other. We’ve always prided ourselves on our home form and we’ve seen the benefits of that, and we’re more competitive away.”

They coughed up a losing bonus point with an intercept try away to the Dragons the following week and the Challenge Cup came at the right time, especially the opener against Olympus of Madrid. A week later the comeback win away to a full-strength Montpellier was a catalyst, with Connacht remaining unbeaten at home since that dark September night against Ulster. They also put their weather enforced break over Christmas to good use with several full-contact sessions on the astro-turf at the Sportsground.

Still to come at the Sportsground, Connacht have Munster tomorrow, their rearranged match with Leinster and the visit of a star-studded Toulon in the Challenge Cup semi-finals. There’s a trek to Llanelli and a potentially momentous last-day showdown with Ulster as well as, possibly, a European Challenge Cup final against either Wasps or Cardiff.

Muldoon admits this is Connacht’s best chance of reaching what is their Holy Grail, ie qualifying for the Heineken Cup. “It’s a massive goal for us, especially for the players and the coaching staff that have been involved, but at the same time we want to be competitive in there. There’s no point in going into the Heineken Cup and shipping big scores and saying ‘ah well, we were there for a season and we had good old craic’. We want to be competitively there all the time.”

Muldoon cites Munster as an example. “It wasn’t until they started going really well in the Heineken Cup that people started turning up to the Celtic League as well in big numbers. For Connacht supporters that’s what we need. Under-age systems are improving and the academy is getting stronger and (playing) numbers are getting bigger and bigger, and I think for kids to look up to us, if we got into the Heineken Cup and were competitive for a year or two the under-age scene would blossom.”

Muldoon represents a sprinkling of indigenous talent which aspiring young players in the province can identify with, along with the likes of Gavin Duffy, Johnny O’Connor, Conor O’Loughlin, Ronan Loughney and Aidan Wynne, and with younger players such as Andrew Browne and Dave Nolan. In the Connacht As which recently beat Ulster A all the pack and four of the backs were from the province.

The progress of ex-Leinster men Fionn Carr, Ian Keatley and Jamie Hagan are proof of that, and there’ll be an equally pronounced clutch of ex-Munstermen fired up for tomorrow’s game in the likes of classy scrumhalf Frank Murphy, Seán Cronin and Keith Matthews.

Connacht would like more and qualification for the Heineken Cup would make that prospect more appealing. “We’d only love to see them coming down,” says Muldoon. “We’re not naïve enough to think they’re going to stay in Connacht all their lives. Everybody knows Jamie Hagan and Seán Cronin and all these guys want to go back and play with their provinces. We accept that, but at the same time they’re going to make Connacht rugby better and we’ll hopefully make them better – a win-win situation for everyone and for Irish rugby.”

Coach Michael Bradley has cleverly infused this Irish mix with a distinctly Polynesian influence in flanker Ray Ofisa, outhalf Miah Nikora, centre Niva Ta’auso and the recently-acquired George Naoupu, a dynamic, ball-carrying number eight who has been a big boost for Connacht since his arrival in early December. In fact, Ofisa and Ta’auso went to school together, and they all knew Naoupu quite well.

The initial reaction to the IRFU’s decision to only award one-year contracts to the coaching and playing staff, including next season’s new head coach Eric Elwood, raised alarms. But Muldoon says a meeting between players and coaches with chief executive Gerry Kelly reassured them longer-term contracts would be offered in the near future and underlined the importance of the squad staying together. “Obviously one-year contracts is not the best scenario but everyone was willing to put their hands on the row and get that boat going,” says Muldoon.

When the Sword of Damocles last hung over Connacht in 2003, Muldoon was training part-time on a development contract with the province. The ensuing mass exodus was, in a sense, good for him in that he was offered a full contract for the following season.

Muldoon had been touted for bigger things by then, even though he only took up rugby at 14 in Portumna Community School. Each year, the school’s PE teacher, James Coughlan, and the school’s business studies teacher Daithi Frawley, a long-serving Portumna club man who has since been Connacht president, would see if there were 25 or so names willing to play rugby. “And if there wasn’t 25 names, there would be no team,” says Muldoon.

Luckily for him, that year there was, Muldoon having been inspired to put his name forward because his older brother, Ivan, had played the year before. He kept up hurling until he was 17 or 18, having been in the Galway minor squad that won the All-Ireland in 2000. “To be honest I wasn’t much good,” admits Muldoon, “but a few of the hurling diehards weren’t too happy with me. The majority understood it was my preference and that there might be a future in it for me.”

He had also been training and playing with the Irish Youths, which prompted the first big clash and his preference for rugby. Thanks, he says, to his brother being better than him and being courted by cousins to play for Nenagh, he played a couple of years with them as well and, along with Ray Hogan, won an All-Ireland Under-18 Cup.

While then studying at UCG, the three of them went up for training one night only to discover their team-mates weren’t as enthused about the idea and only five had turned up. Muldoon was playing with the Irish Under-19s and said he needed to train, and so too did his brother, Hogan and their mate, John Burke.

Galwegians, then top of the league, invited them to train with their squad and then director of rugby, John Kingston, was watching. After training, Kingston singled out a few players to return for training later in the week. Informed the two Muldoons and their mate had never been seen before, Kingston said: ‘Well, I don’t give a s***. They’re getting to train with the top club team in Ireland and they’ll be down for training.’ I signed two or three weeks later,” says Muldoon.

Through playing in the Connacht Under-20s Cup with Galwegians they were given summer training contracts in 2001 with Connacht and it all started from there. “My brother trained as well that summer but absolutely hated it. At the end of the summer he said: ‘I absolutely don’t want to do this anymore’.” By contrast, his brother loved it.

Though there’s been bad days, he’s loved it ever since. He nearly left last season, and though he won’t say where the offer was from, by the sounds of it one of the other provinces were one of his suitors. But he declined. “I couldn’t see myself going somewhere and having Connacht do well and not be part of it. Even if I was part of a team that won the Heineken Cup or won something elsewhere it wouldn’t mean as much to me as doing well with Connacht.”

His sense of responsibility to his native province is in part because he is their captain. “If I wasn’t captain it would have been easier for me to go. Coming up through the ranks and having pride in where you’re from – I suppose a lot of that is from having a GAA background. Portumna have just lost out on a three All-Irelands in a row but they always pride themselves on where they come from.”

His sense of unfinished business was augmented by a belief there was the ability to achieve something tangible. Along the way, he did win his first two caps for Ireland in the USA and Canada last season as well as being part of the Churchill Cup winning squad, on foot of which he has been called into Irish squads regularly. “Every player wants to play for Ireland and I’m no different. It was a proud moment for me and Keith (Matthews) coming from Connacht. I was glad I was still a Connacht player when it happened and it’s nice whenever I walk into the board-room for a meeting to look at your name up there beside Eric (Elwood) and all the good Connacht men who have represented Ireland.”

Connacht’s Kiwi fitness adviser Greg Muller often reminds the players of that list and regularLY asks “who’s going to be next on that wall?”’ Muldoon chuckles when adding: “It’s a good little incentive that’s up there in our meetings all the time and we’ve cleared a nice little space in our cabinet for a trophy as well.”