BUNDEE AKI SAYS that staying with Connacht was an easy decision to make.
Ireland international lock Ultan Dillane says he, too, had no doubts about remaining at the Sportsground following last season’s success, when the province won the Guinness Pro12.
“It was a fairly easy decision for me to make,” said Aki this afternoon in Galway. “There was a few people knocking on doors but I felt like I was at home here.
“I feel happy here – there are a great bunch of boys around me and great people around Galway.”
Aki, last season’s Pro12 player of the year, has signed a three-year contract extension, with Dillane penning a new two-year deal.
“We just want to keep going the way we are going,” said 22-year-old Dillane, who grew up in Tralee having been born in Paris.
“Obviously, we did some great things last year and we have our goals again for this season. It’s all positive things.”
Dillane played underage rugby for Munster but came through the Connacht academy and has now made 34 appearances for Pat Lam’s side.
Head coach Lam said it was a huge boost for the pair to remain at the Sportsground.
There was so much attention on them, they had options,” said Lam. “There is no doubt that people on-shore and off-shore were very keen on these two players.”
Meanwhile, chief executive Willie Ruane hit out at the nature of some of the speculation linking Aki and Dillane to moves elsewhere.
“I was slightly bemused by some of the speculation,” said Ruane. ”Speculation is one thing, statement of fact in some cases was absolutely bizarre.”
Dual Players, make 2 all Irelands, sounds to me like the experiment is a resounding success?
Dual players has been going on at minor level for years, it just so happens this year both teams were successful and went all the way to the final, which i would say was helped by a momentum gained from having dual players.
They were both successful in reaching the final and minor has 2 purposes, yes winning is one ,preparing seniors is another and having experience in a final will surely help .
Also why have so many only have those that will figure on team or used subs , have only hurlers after that this will reduce disturbance of squad.
Ger Loughlane point is much more important, with the size of the “home of hurling” and the amount of clubs not promoting football , why are these clubs not able to supply a minor team with only a few gems making the cross over.
Is the dual player an effort to promote hurling or demote football, Mr McKeever did not have to raid the issue the week of the final,
What Liam is actually saying is that the players are good enough there but with all the commitments they have at that age that it’s impossible to get a full panel together for enough sessions to understand how their teammates play, the more they play together the better they work as a unit, but they are missing that time to get the best out of the unit and that’s possibly why they fell at the final hurdle as it was impossible to get the right preparation done for it, it’s the age old saying “fail to prepare, prepare to fail”, it’s not the players fault, not the managements fault or the county boards fault, it’s the results of having a good underage structure, it certainly has to be looked at but it’s certainly a good complaint to have, I’d much prefer it than to been mediocre at one and non existent at the other
I’m saying it ages! Make a choice u either play hurling or football
making two All Irelands and winning none of them so where is the success there? Am I missing something!
I totally agree with Liam Cahill Tipperary is a hurling county always was and always will be
no point in sending a football team out against Kerry or Dublin and getting whipped by 20 points and being a laughing stock and then being too tired and lethargic to compete in the minor hurling final which is our priority sport
the County Board needs to have a good look at itself and decide if it wants Tipperary to win hurling All Irelands again or not
Bloody hell yet have more football all Ireland’s than Mayo! :(
I m fully behind the dual mandate. Well.done to tipp. Why make an 18 yr old choose for the sake of a medal? How is loosing a final, a single game, hindering their development? Wonderful achievement getting to both. Would they have won either if they had concentrated on one code? I dont think so.