KILDARE’S WILL CONNORS SIGNS TWO YEAR EXTENSION AT LEINSTER
By Daire Walsh
While he admitted there was some deliberation before he put pen to paper, Will Connors is ultimately delighted to have signed a contract extension that will keep him at Leinster Rugby for the immediate future.
Despite being sidelined with a knee injury at the time, the Donadea, Co Kildare native previously agreed a new deal with the eastern province in March 2022. Considering he had already accumulated nine senior international caps by that point – scoring three tries, including a brace against Italy in the 2021 Six Nations – it made perfect sense for Leinster to keep Connors as part of their set-up.
The presence of Josh van der Flier and Scott Penny ensures that competition for places in the former Clongowes Wood College student’s preferred position of openside flanker is fierce, albeit he has started three games on the blindside during the current season. Additionally, he was given the nod to start Leinster’s pool stage win away to La Rochelle last December and once again donned the number 7 jersey when Ronan O’Gara’s men paid a visit to the Aviva Stadium for a European Champions Cup quarter-final on April 13.
Yet he did miss out on the match 23 for last weekend’s nervy penultimate round success over Northampton Saints in the same competition at Croke Park and there had been some suggestions in recent weeks that Connors might move on from Leinster this summer. The industrious back-row acknowledges he did have plenty to ponder, but given how much he has enjoyed wearing the blue jersey since his senior debut against Edinburgh in February 2018, he was thrilled with the announcement on Monday that he will be staying at Leinster for the 2024/25 season.
“When these decisions come around, you do have to kind of see what else is around. But when Leinster came and eventually offered me something, it was something that I jumped at. It’s great to be staying on in the club. With the future here, it’s very exciting, especially with new recruits coming in and it would be a shame to miss it,” Connors remarked at a media briefing in UCD this week.
“I was keeping an eye out, but to be honest, when Leinster put the contract before me, it was signed on the dotted line. There was obviously a bit of deliberation, there was nothing in front of me for a while. With injury and stuff, I had to get a few games under my belt. Once it came through, I was fairly happy to commit to it.”
Considering it was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 82,300 at GAA HQ on Saturday – a new record attendance for a European club game – Connors was clearly disappointed to not be involved in Leinster’s aforementioned semi-final victory against Northampton.
Yet he hasn’t given up hope of featuring for Leo Cullen’s men in their Champions Cup final showdown with European giants Toulouse at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 25. He has already been selected on three occasions in 2023/24 as part of a 6/2 bench split and with the province’s senior coach Jacques Nienaber using this to such good effect on the international scene with South Africa, Connors may well benefit for that mouthwatering clash in London.
Upcoming United Rugby Championship clashes against Ospreys (this Saturday) and Ulster (May 18) will present Connors – if he is selected – with the perfect opportunity to showcase his worth.
“Nobody’s place on the team is ever cemented down and that’s the beauty of this squad. We have within each position so much strength in depth. Everyone is pushing each other and there are no guarantees any week.”
“That’s why in the next two weeks of the URC, it’s important that you take every chance you get and put your best foot forward. Because everyone wants to be on that plane to London. In the meantime, we need to put ourselves in a strong position, because we want to get those home games in the URC.”
While Connors’ primary focus is on being a professional rugby player, he has also been keeping himself occupied away from the training and playing fields. Formerly a student at University College Dublin, the past two years has found Connors in Trinity College – where he is working on a PhD that concentrates on rugby’s tackle area and making the sport safer.
“They’ve been very flexible with full-time rugby, but being able to, when I can, work at it. In fairness, they’ve been great at being adaptable and working around my schedule. The safety of rugby has been something going forward that I probably do want to focus on a little bit,” Connors added.
“You see talk across the pond of potentially eliminating tackling from underage rugby, which I feel for the game would be very negative. When done right, the tackle is nearly the beauty of the game. It’s the contact, it’s that way for people to impose themselves on the game.
“I feel like in my own experience, that there is so much skill to it that you can actually learn, and by optimising it, you can get a lot safer approach to it. Being able to be partly involved in trying to keep the game alive through the underage roots would be great.”