DISCUSSION POINTS

Another season, another coach. Kieran Keane’s reign lasted just one year and now Andy Friend is in charge at the Sportsground.

Friend has vast experience as a coach, working with the likes of Harlequins, Brumbies and Wallabies, but in recent years his focus has been on the abbreviated game with Australia Sevens. The rigours, not to mention the tactics, of club rugby contrast sharply with the World Series and how quickly

Friend adapts will determine the impact he is able to have.

Connacht have slumped in the table since the heady heights of their title win in 2016 and Friend has spoken of “putting the belief back in that group”, but they must also up their attacking game. If they have aspirations of battling Glasgow and Munster at the top of Conference A for a place in the play-offs, they need to average more than 2.4 tries a game and a win rate that’s better than 33%.