Eric Elwood's era of 24 years continuous service for the province came to an end against Glasgow in the final round of this season’s RaboDirect Pro 12.
More than 6,000 fans gathered at the Sportsground to salute Elwood and show their appreciation of a true Connacht sportsman. With him stood more Connacht greats - none more so than crowd favourite Johnny O’Connor, stalwart Adrian Flavin, and the province’s latest Irish product Mike McCarthy - all of whom will be missing next season, but have left an indelible memory.
Connacht may have lost to semi-finalists Glasgow by 20-3, but as Eric Elwood tearfully told his players in the dressing room afterwards, a season or career does not come down to one game.
Connacht, in finishing in eighth place for a second successive year, achieved more wins both home and away than any other season. And Elwood, as he had always hoped, has left the province in a richer position despite scant resources.
Having been the province’s most influential player for nearly two decades, without doubt he has been at the heart of Connacht’s renaissance both on and off the field in the last three years - a man, he admits, who wears his heart on his sleeve, but also one, who through honesty and integrity, has pushed the boundaries in his unswerving commitment to ensure Connacht is respected at the highest echelons of European rugby.
Perhaps one of his strongest legacies has been his commitment to develop local talent, and, in conjunction with the work of Nigel Carolan in the Academy, the province had 19 indigenous players in its squad.
It is something in which Elwood takes pride as he hands over the baton to Pat Lam in the next two weeks before “disappearing off” to “chill out” and put some “normality” into his life with his wife Tara and children Laura, Rachel, and Callum.
“We have a great loyal bunch of supporters and that has grown over the last three to four years. It takes a special person to be a Connacht supporter because we are not going to win every game. They are happy to see us give 100 per cent and they stuck with us. They can understand what we are trying to do on and off the park, and that is to be applauded. There are now more people playing rugby and more schools playing, and that is all progress.”
Having been “prepared” for Friday night’s farewell, Elwood, for the most part, kept his emotions under control as he responded to the fans and saluted their support.
“ I had a couple of weaknesses when I met some of the old characters whom I have know throughout my 25 years - like Micky Grealish and Gerry Kelly. They are special because we go back a long way - it’s special - this place is special to me - and it’s not easy to walk away.
“I really do appreciate the thank yous and people staying on after the game to applaud me and the team- that’s heartwarming, but that is what we are about in Connacht - it’s a community-based team, it’s not Eric Elwood’s team - and that is really important to me.”
