CRAIG RONALDSON
Ronaldson enjoying life at Connacht
By Daire Walsh
2015 was another fascinating year for Connacht Rugby, who continue to make massive strides under the guidance of former Samoan international Pat Lam.
World Cup stars Robbie Henshaw and Nathan White are the most recognisable faces in the present squad, but the province’s recruitment policy ensures that counties from across Ireland are given a significant representation at the Sportsgrounds.
Former Newbridge College student Fionn Carr is in his second spell with Connacht, and former Naas underage flanker James Connolly recently appeared at senior level. They are joined in the province by Craig Ronaldson, who explains that his rugby education also began in Forenaughts.
“I’m from just outside Naas pretty much. Ballymore Eustace is my home. We had the family farm out there, but I grew up and started playing in Naas [RFC] and went to school in Naas,” he said.
“I went to [secondary] school then in Kilkenny College. I boarded there for six years, and then went on up to college in Dublin, to UCD. I got my degree up there, and I started playing for Lansdowne then once I finished Kilkenny. I played with Lansdowne then for I think it was five years or whatever, until I got picked up by Connacht.”
Indeed, it was his performances with Lansdowne that first caught the attention of Connacht, who signed Ronaldson on a one-year deal just two days after the south Dublin club were crowned 2012/13 Ulster Bank League champions.
The then 23-year-old was subsequently named as that season’s Division 1A Player of the Year, and when you consider how far some of his Lansdowne team-mates have progressed since then, he agrees that the All-Ireland League was a major stepping stone in his career.
“We had a good team there, and we actually won the league my last year there. I had the likes of [Connacht winger] Matt Healy who was there with me, we had [Connacht scrum-half] John Cooney, who was there as well.
“A few of the lads who have gone to do well, like Jordi Murphy and Marty Moore. A few of those guys with Leinster who have obviously gone on to do well as well. It was a strong team we had there. It was definitely a good stepping stone for the guys who were looking to push on to the next level.”
Between schools, club and provincial level, Ronaldson has had a number of major career highlights to date. However, in terms of moments that will forever be etched in his memory, it would be hard to top Connacht’s sensational triumph over Munster on November 28.
This was the first time that the Westerners had defeated the Red Army at Thomond Park in all of 29 years, but Ronaldson revealed that they were confident of claiming Munster’s scalp in advance of the fixture, and views it as a big win for the province rather than just the team itself.
“It was a great win for us now. We obviously celebrated at the final whistle, but at the end of the day we were kind of confident in our abilities going up to try and get the win. It’s something we’ve been working on week in, week out.”
“It was a big win for the province, more so than it was for the actual team. We were confident we could get the win, and it was another win for us. We’ve got to just keep backing it up now. I kind of don’t want it to be a once off kind of thing. We’ve just got to try and keep it going now.”
In some of his more recent games, Ronaldson has partnered the in-form Bundee Aki in the centre, with regular number 12 Robbie Henshaw (whose future with the province has been the subject of much speculation) switching to full-back.
This suggests that Lam is willing to move one of his most prized assets to a different position in order to accomodate Ronaldson, but despite accepting that this may be a possibility, he tries to focus on his own game rather than worrying too much about the other players in the team.
“We have been changing around the team a good bit, but I’ve been happy to be getting those few starts recently in the last few weeks.”
“It’s been the 12 position, and I’m getting more and more comfortable there as well. I’ve been working well with Bundee Aki at the moment as well. He’s been playing some great rugby, and it’s been great to be able to feed off him.”
“I’m just trying to focus on my own game to be honest. I’m not too much worrying about other guys. I’m just going to try to keep improving, keep sticking my hand up for selection, and hopefully at the end of the day keep performing.”
The 2015/16 European Rugby Challenge Cup series has been an interesting one for Connacht, who made the trip to Siberia to face RC Enisei in mid-November. This game made headlines for a number of reasons, as not only were they playing in temperatures that were well below -20ºC, but technical difficulties with their return flight meant that they were stranded in the Russian region for a number of days.
The squad was actually split into three separate groups for their elongated departure, but even though he admits that it was a surreal experience, Ronaldson was quick to accentuate the positives of the 12,000km round trip.
“It kind of was a bit surreal to be honest. None of us really knew what to expect going over. We’d kind of heard things about the weather, and we’d heard kind of how isolated it was going to be, but it really wasn’t until we actually got over there that it kind of hit us.”
“I’ve never experienced a cold like it now as well, and those conditions are something that will probably never be replicated ever again. At the end of the day, it was actually a great trip I think, just getting to see a new place. As a squad, I think we really bonded well.”
“It was obviously a tough journey home, but like Pat said, you’ve just got to deal with it and move on. He kind of brought it back to how things can transfer into a match as well. When things go wrong, you’ve got to deal with it and move on.”
Returning to the Champions Cup is certainly a major priority for Connacht, but the Challenge Cup is a competition that they will take seriously while they are in it. They reached the quarter-final stage in last season’s competition, and although that game ended in a 14-7 loss at the hands of Gloucester, it was nevertheless one of the biggest games Ronaldson has played in the professional game.
“Yeah, it was definitely up there. Probably some of the interpro games as well are probably some of the big games we play here. Pat was saying that game against Munster is pushing the standard right up there, close to Test match level, and that’s where we want to be playing.”
In the first half of last season, Connacht produced some excellent results, before suffering a dip in form during the closing stages of their Pro12 campaign. This meant that they missed out on a place in the top-six, and given how tricky last May’s Champions Cup play-off (also against Gloucester) proved to be, Ronaldson is hopeful that they can remain in the top half of the table.
“We don’t want to really be in that position. I think the thing at the moment is, we have it in our hands, where last year we were kind of hoping teams would slip up maybe a bit.”
“We were hoping for other results to go our way, whereas at the moment, it’s in our hands. We know ourselves, if we keep working we’ll be in a position to qualify. That’s what we’re focusing on.”
While injuries restricted him to a certain degree in his first two seasons, Ronaldson has made major progress with Connacht in the past few months.
He feels that he is improving all the time, and now that the squad are completely up to speed with the way Lam wants them to play, they are exerting their influence on the pitch.
“I think I’m definitely improving, and looking to progress like you said. It’s my third year down here now, and I think injuries played a part in my first two seasons as well. I had a bit of stop and start. I’d get a few games, and then I’d miss a chunk.”
“I think we’re more familiar with each other as well, and we’re more familiar with how Pat wants us to play, and our shape as well. That’s definitely helping. I definitely think I’m getting better, but there’s still a good bit to go as well in terms of improvement.”
Should he continue to develop at his current rate, however, then the sky may well be the limit for Ronaldson.