Craggy Rugby Podcast

Connacht managed to pull a victory out of the jaws of defeat after recovering from a 17 point deficit to a much weakened Ulster team in the first interpro of the season.Linley MacKenzie, Rob Murphy and Dave Finn join host Alan Deegan to get their immediate post match reactions while we hear from Pete Wilkins, Conor Oliver, Dan McFarland and Jake Flannery in the post match press conference. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A statement win from Connacht over a more or less fully loaded Glasgow that leaves the Western province in second place on the table after week 2 of the URC season.We hear the post match thoughts of head coach Pete Wilkins, #8 Jarrad Butler and Glasgow head coach Franco Smith.Alan Deegan takes you through the match while Linley MacKenzie and Dave Finn cogitate on what could be the win that really propels Connacht towards the playoffs for the second season in a row. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connacht got a bonus point win in their first match of the URC season after a brilliant first half performance, which was followed by a very underwhelming second half one, but they got the job done and gave debuts to 6 new players, so a satisfying start to the season.Danny Deegan takes you through the match, Rob gives us his end of match thoughts, we hear from Toby Booth and Keelan Giles for the Ospreys perspective while Pete Wilkins and hat-trick hero Caolin Blade talk to us as well in the post match press conference.Linley MacKenzie and Dave Finn join host Alan Deegan to analyse some excellent performances in that excellent win. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Craggy Crew were the main panelists for the Galway Bay FM Sports preview of the RWC 2023 and in an extended podcast they are joined by Tom English of BBC Scotland, Brendan Nell a South African rugby journalist and an Galway man who has been living in New Zealand for over 30 years Oliver Lee. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connacht couldn't quite make it a fairytale finish to the end of an ultimately successful season with a URC QF win and qualification for next season's Champions Cup secured.Rob Murphy takes you through the match while William Davies and Linley MacKenzie join host Alan Deegan to give their thoughts on where it went wrong.We hear from Andy Friend, Jack Carty and Stormers coach John Dobson too. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well Connacht fairly made us sweat for their first away win in a one off Quarter Final as they held out against Ulster in the Kingspan Stadium.Linley MacKenzie, William Davies, Rob Murphy and Alan Deegan take you through the match and give their thoughts on such an historic win while we also hear from Andy Friend and Jack Carty along with a quick word from Tiernan's dad Aidan O'Halloran Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connacht gave their best ever performance in Scotstoun as they came within a hair's breath of beating Glasgow. Munster did Connacht an unbelievable favour is garnering a draw against the Sharks to confirm Connacht finishing at least 7th and a big step closer to Champions Cup rugby next season.William Davies and Linley MacKenzie join Alan Deegan to review that excellent performance and look forward to the quarter final against Ulster.We also get the post match thoughts of Andy Friend. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connacht produced another excellent performance and bonus point win to guarantee their place in the URC play-offs and give them a real shot at Champions   Cup rugby for next season.The Craggy Crew take you through the match and analyse the win post-match while we also hear from Andy Friend and Kieran Marmion. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connacht's abysmal record in knockout matches away from home continued in Treviso as Benetton overpowered them in the Round of 16 match in the Challenge Cup.William Davies and Alan Deegan bring you through the match and they are joined by Linley MacKenzie to try and pick out the bones of another disappointing away performance and defeat.We also have the post-match thoughts of Andy Friend. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What a performance and result for Connacht with a win that bounces them up to 6th with 2 matches left to play in the regular season in the URC.This match had it all and so we got Dave Finn, Niall Shiel and Linley MacKenzie to try and make some sense of the goings on that included 3 yellow cards as well as a 5th hat-trick from a Connacht player this season.We hear the post match thoughts of Andy Friend and Caolin Blade as well as some  of the Connacht faithful when we finished off the podcast recording in Murty Rabbitts. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connacht squeezed past a gritty Dragons side in Rodney Parade to garner a 4th win in a row, but without the required try bonus point which might come back to haunt them in their drive towards not only making the URC playoffs but also Champions Cup qualification for next season.William Davies and Rob Murphy join Alan Deegan to try and make sense of a strange performance from Connacht and we hear the post match thoughts of Andy Friend also. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connacht garnered the required Bonus Point win in Parma in an absolute try-fest of a match as they move into a URC play-off spot for the first time this season.William Davies and Rob Murphy take you through the match while Alan Deegan joins William for some post match analysis and we hear from hat-trick hero Dylan Tierney-Martin and coach Andy Friend in the post-match press conference. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A try bonus point win for Connacht over the Lions keeps their playoff hopes alive.Jack Carty broke Eric Elwood's all-time points scoring record for Connacht and Caolin Blade became the first scrumhalf to score a hat-trick for Connacht. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connacht failed to secure a home Round of 16 match in the Challenge Cup after yet ANOTHER defeat on English soil as they failed to cope with the power and precision of the early onslaught by Newcastle.The Craggy Crew try and make sense of the wildly fluctuating performance and question some of the selection decisions that came back to haunt Andy Friend and his coaching brain trust as an away trip to Italy is their reward for winning 3 of the 4 matches in the pool stages of the Challenge Cup. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connacht scored their biggest ever win over a French team to qualify for the Round of 16 when defeating Brive 61-5 in the Sportsground.The Craggy Crew enjoy reviewing the match and we hear the post match thoughts of Andy Friend and Niall Murray. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connacht snaffled a bonus point win in atrocious conditions as they remain unbeaten against South African opposition in the Sportsground and the Craggy Crew are no longer grumpy in the post match analysis.We hear the post match thoughts of Andy Friend and Mack Hansen as well as a very thoughtful Sharks coach Joey Mongalo. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That was not the start to the New Year that Connacht would have wanted as a rampant Leinster put them to the sword.William Davies and Rob Murphy discuss a pretty damning defeat and we hear the post match thoughts from Andy Friend and the Murray brothers, who became only the 2nd ever pair of brothers to start in the second row together for Connacht. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connacht almost snatched a draw from the wide open jaws of defeat, but the better team on the night won the match in a dramatic finish and a pretty gutted Craggy Crew don't hold back on their feelings about yet another defeat in an Interpro.We also hear the post match thoughts of Andy Friend, Conor Oliver and Dan McFarland. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connacht got the 5 try bonus that they needed in a somewhat bizarre match in the south of France as they defeated Brive 24-31 in a match that saw Abraham Papali'i once again red carded as well as Brive losing a couple of other players to the sin bin.It wasn't all good news for Connacht as both Paul Boyle and Gavin Thornbury appear to have sustained long term injuries.William Davies, Niall Sheil and Alan Deegan take you through the match while we hear from the travelling support as well as Andy Friend and David Hawkshaw Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connacht defeated a big Newcastle side in Round 1 of the Challenge Cup at a frigid Sportsground to get their campaign off to a good start.We hear the post match thoughts of Andy Friend and Jarrad Butler as well as Newcastle coach Dave Walder.Rob Murphy hosts the podcast and chats to Linley MacKenzie, Dave Finn and William Davies. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.