Dexcom Stadium, to be opened in January, and well-known coach Stuart Lancaster, are at the forefront of Connacht’s continued development under the leadership of CEO Willie Ruane.
Both are key components as the URC Championship gets underway this weekend with the home side hosting Benetton in Galway (7.45pm Saturday ).
Stuart Lancaster - the former England, Leinster and Racing 92 coach - is now in situ, and is "super excited".
"Loving it. Coaching every day. Good group. Ready to go," he says of Connacht’s opening fixture against the visiting Italians. "We’ve made some tweaks to how we train - using the experiences of being at Leinster, coaching in England, and being in France as well," he says.
Despite Connacht having finished in 13th spot in the URC last season, Lancaster believes his new club always had a "high ceiling".
"Last year I think they were frustrated they didn't achieve more. If you look at the metrics of line breaks, defenders beaten, the attack was a really strong part of Connacht's game.
"The bit I felt needed to balance out was the defence, but also game management. It's all very well having a great attacking mindset, but if you come 13th, that's not the outcome we all want.” The result, he says are “tweaks made to the foundations of the game".
"But within that, it's strong, and the squad has benefited from the three British and Irish Lions, and the six lads going on the Ireland tour."
Out of action this week are Lions Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen and Finlay Bealham, who are expected back in rounds three or four having begun pre-season training last Monday. Harry West (hamstring ), Temi Lasisi (knee surgery ), and Oisin Dowling (knee injury ) are ruled out. New recruit Sam Gilbert will not join the squad until completing his commitments with Otago in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship.
"Mack is running around, but hasn't done a session yet; Bundee and Finlay are back training," Lancaster says, with some 45 having trained this week.
Not surprisingly coming to the west of Ireland was far from Lancaster’s mind when he left Racing 92, while also having received calls from Australia and Wales.
"I was pretty burnt, to be honest. I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do next other than I was leaving France," he says.
However, that all changed when Lancaster and his wife Nina travelled to Galway to watch their son Dan play for Racing against Connacht in the European Challenge Cup quarter-final - a superb match which the French side eventually won by just three points 43-40.
"I said, ‘God, we miss Ireland, don't we?’"
Then, in an Off The Ball interview the following Wednesday, he was asked if he would ever return to Ireland. He said, "Yeah, I never left on bad terms. We really enjoyed our time here. And you never say never, let's see what happens."
Unsurprisingly, IRFU performance director David Humphries soon asked for a "catch-up"; so too did Connacht’s CEO Willie Ruane, and the deal was done.
High ceiling
Lancaster says it was the ideal time for him and his family.
"We very much saw it as a family decision, but also a rugby one. The rugby one was an easy one for me because it was a chance to coach full-time in a club environment that I knew - good people, a great place to live, etc.
"So, it didn't take a huge amount of persuading for me to put my hat in the ring. And then I got interviewed and I presented to the interview panel. And not long after that, they offered the role and here we are." Now, ahead of the opening round. Lancaster says there is energy within the Connacht squad.
"I feel the energy, it's a good group, and my intention is to rotate the team during the first five games to give us a chance to see everyone. But we've got to win games as well."
Pre-season wins against Bristol and Sale - although their opponents were not at full strength - gives confidence, but Lancaster knows the "true test not only comes this Saturday, but also for the next five weeks".
"I always believed coming in that the foundations were strong and felt that Connacht had a high ceiling. Last year I think they were frustrated that they didn't achieve more.
"If you look at the metrics of line breaks, defenders beaten; attack was a really strong part of Connacht's game. The bit I felt needed to balance out was the defence and game management.
"The squad has also benefited from the three British and Irish Lions and the six lads going on the Ireland tour," Lancaster added.
Youth is key
"When players go away to international camps or international environments, they definitely come back with an increased level of self-confidence and self-belief. And part of the challenge for me is to increase the self-confidence and self-belief of this team.
"Those players who have done that, you can see that. But also, there's a group of players who are younger, and they are the ones who I think we've integrated. They'll be allowed to train. They come to sit in meetings.
"So, when I've been looking at these 19-, 20-year-olds, who haven't maybe played for Ireland 20s yet, they're in our meetings. They're in our training sessions and they're growing their knowledge and experience.
"It's through the roof, really, what they're learning. So, that gives me great confidence for the future of Connacht because I know the quality of the players I'm coaching."
