By John Fallon

Connacht Rugby’s new head coach, Stuart Lancaster, says the province’s High Performance Centre which has been built as part of the €40m redevelopment of the Sportsground is as good as he has ever seen —but the bulk of the training is still going to be done outdoors.

The College Road venue is regarded as one of the wettest and windiest stadiums on the URC and European circuit, and Lancaster said his players need to train in those conditions in order to play in them.

However, the huge indoor playing facility will be a huge asset, not just to the professional side, but also to all other levels of rugby in Connacht and Lancaster said the redeveloped facilities are a massive boost to rugby in the west.

“From a coaching point of view, it’s got everything I need. It’s got an indoor space but the reality is we play rugby outdoors. But the indoor facility will be great for clarity sessions. We will spend time in there, on clarity sessions, sometimes if the weather is so bad you might want to do core skills or lineouts or whatever in there.

“But for Connacht Rugby, age-grade, women’s rugby and so on, to have an artificial pitch that can be multi-used, and to have an indoor centre, it’s a huge asset for the province,” he said.

The new North Stand, the final part of the €40m jigsaw which will see capacity rise to 12,000, is expected to open in January, with a URC clash with Leinster at the end of that month pencilled in for the official opening.

Lancaster, who first visited the Sportsground nine years ago after joining Leinster, said that the development is a major statement by Connacht Rugby.

“When you consider what was there when I came to Connacht for the first time in 2016. I’m from grassroots rugby, so I wasn’t shocked by it because I’ve been in lots of grounds like Connacht was, but to see a transformation from what it was to what it is . . .

“When that stand gets opened, and hopefully it’s for the Leinster game, and it’s full, I think it will be a hell of a sight. It’s a hell of a statement from Connacht. To say we’re actually here, not just as the fourth province, as an equal now,” said Lancaster.

Connacht, fresh from impressive away preseason friendlies against Bristol Bears and Sale Sharks, will hold an open training session tomorrow form noon before starting the new season when they host Benetton Rugby there tomorrow week, Saturday September 27 (7.45pm).

Lancaster is pleased with the way preseason has gone and the response from his new charges has been encouraging after a disruptive campaign last season which saw them finish 13th in the league, and lose a Challenge Cup home quarter-final to 14-man Racing 92; head coach Pete Wilkins departed during the season.

“I think there’s an excitement from the players about getting some new ideas and building on the foundations and I’ve been quick to point out to the players, the foundations are pretty strong,” added Lancaster.

“I think the coaching last year was good, obviously there was challenges with Pete stepping down and the changes that have taken place, but once I’ve been able to sort of explain to the players what was good about last year but how we could improve things, I think it’s been very clear to them the direction they need to push

“What I’ve asked from them is to be open-minded about making change as well because if we keep doing the same thing in the same way, then we’ll end up coming 13th again, which is not the plan.

“I think there’s two things. One is the complete commitment to being the best they can be, and [the other] the complete commitment to the training week. Training sessions are not designed to be easy, they’re designed to be above match intensity to allow them to make the game feel easy. The game is never easy, but that’s the intention.

“So full commitment to training and I think you know the Leinster players would have said when I first came in it was a bit of a shock the intensity that I was expecting so full commitment to that, and the Connacht players will be no different.

“That’s what I’ll be expecting and when we had our first Tuesday, I said ‘this is a five out of 10’, they looked at me as if I was like crazy. But I thought there were a few levels to go and to this point obviously everyone’s been great.

“Professionalism on and off the field is prerequisite and then it’s that transition, so when we see the team play, we see a reflection of how we’re training and the spirit and the identity that we’re talking about.

“We need to back up our words with actions so that when we play those first block of five games, if you’re a Connacht supporter, you can see a tangible difference in intensity and accuracy and skill and decision-making,” added Lancaster.

Pictured: An aerial view of the new-look Dexcom Stadium. Photo: INPHO/James Crombie