Connacht Rugby Awards Night

The Connacht Rugby Awards Night will take place in the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa in Galway on Saturday, May 16.

The black tie event will get under way with a drinks reception at 7.30pm, followed by dinner at 8pm.

Tickets are €;85 per person and tables of ten are €;850. Tickets are available from the Connacht Branch offices at the Sportsground (tel: 091 561568).

Awards will be presented on the night to Connacht players in all grades and codes, from schools, underage and clubs up to the professional level.

A former Connacht player will also be inducted into the Connacht Hall of Fame on the night.

Meanwhile, a Connacht Development side will take on Russian outfit Enisei STM at the Sportsground this coming Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

The Russian side, who faced Connacht in an ‘A’ match last season at the Sportsground, are no strangers to touring having also faced Leinster ‘A’ last season.

They came out the wrong side of a 34-18 result the last time they played in Galway and will be looking to improve on where they left off last year.

Boasting a host of Russian-capped players as well as Eastern European internationals, the Krasnoyarsk-based outfit will once again provide for an entertaining match.

The Connacht Development team named for the friendly tie includes Ireland Under-18 Schools winger Tiarnan O’Halloran and Eoin Griffin and Eoin McKeown, who recently played for the Ireland Under-18 Clubs side in the FIRA/AER Championships in France.

CONNACHT DEVELOPMENT (v Enisei STM): John O’Brien; Tiarnan O’Halloran, Eoin Griffin, Aidan Wynne, Danny Riordan; Alan Gaughan, Adam Kennedy; James Robinson, Dermot Murphy, Conor Higgins, Joe Moran, Liam Scahill, Eoin McKeon, Trevor Conneely, David Gannon.

Replacements: Karl Egan, Denis Buckley, Colin Rafferty, Shane Casey, Mark Dolan, Conor Murphy, Colin Conroy, Jason East.