The Irish Times' Gerry Thornley reports as Connacht prepare to make their Heineken Cup debut.
"f Connacht feel any sense of due toward Leinster for their backdoor route towards their long-awaited debut in the Heineken Cup this season, they are entitled to quickly park it. Leinster and the other Irish provinces, under the IRFU umbrella, have long since owed Connacht one after decades of institutionalised bullying and maltreatment.
"Now though, after the Sword of Damacles hung over Connacht for almost a decade, under the more enlightened leadership of Tom Grace and others, the IRFU have removed the moratorium on longterm contracts and given the province and their newly-formed and progressive Professional Game Board (PGB) their full backing.
"However, for the PGB to make tangible progress in the badly-needed redevelopment of the Sportsground, Connacht needed the Heineken Cup after 16 years on the outside as the poor relations of Irish rugby. Cue the newly-built Clan Terrace. Just like that.
"Now too, the players and supporters no longer feel like the pariahs of European rugby. So it was that they reacted with such undiluted glee to meeting the ultimate European powerhouse, Toulouse, for Connacht couldn’t have asked for a more attractive fixture around which to shape their season-ticket, marketing and ground redevelopment strategies."
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