Later Kick of Times at the Sportsgrounds
By Rob Murphy @ Knockon.ie
July 29 2009
Rob announces the good news for Connacht Rugby supporters in the province, that after several seasons of 6.30pm kickoffs it look like the Connacht management have finally grabbed the bull by the horns and tackled the issue of access to games for supporters outside the Galway City area. ..
Connacht fans everywhere will be pleased to see that kick off times this season have been moved back to 7pm for the Friday night fixtures. The new arrangement in conjunction with the greyhound racing will be welcome news to fans traveling to games from from outside of the city.
Also the 8pm kick off for the September 26th home clash with Ulster will be particularly attractive to a lot of ‘nine to fivers' from Connacht counties beyond Galway. The 6:30 slot on Friday's didn't suit everyone and this small but important change should hopefully see an increase in numbers attending although there are no guarantees.
Connacht's first game there this season will actually be at the old kick off time of 6:30pm when Rotherham visit on August 28 for a pre season friendly but for the first Magners League clash at home to the Ospreys on September 5th the kick off time will switch to seven. The same goes for the September 19 clash with Cardiff before Ulster visit the following Friday.
Even the Madrid European Challenge Cup game has been penciled in for 7pm on October 8th with the home clash against Worcester on Friday December 18 also starting at 7pm . The home clash with the Scarlets on October 31 has no confirmed kick off time as of yet.
It was confirmed on Wednesday that Connacht will begin their European Challenge Cup campaign at home to Madrid before traveling to Montpellier the following Friday to take on their old foes for the fourth time in the southern French city but for the first time in their new state of the art home stadium