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Another few links to 2016 glory slip away from Connacht

Niyi Adeolokun, Eoin McKeon and Tom McCartney were huge figures in the province’s greatest day.

MAY ANNOUNCEMENTS WILL always be precariously balanced in between historical landmarks.

And yet yesterday’s long list of departures from Connacht could only seem stark in contrast to the celebratory mood 24 hours earlier as their social media channels were flooded with memories on the four-year anniversary of their Pro12 title victory over Leinster.

Three men among the dozen departees started the unforgettable 20-10 win. Niyi Adeolokun scored a thrilling try. Eoin McKeon and Tom McCartney were fierce in contact as the men of the west created the sweetest imaginable finale to a season.

McCartney takes his leave from the game at 34 after making a massive impact in Galway and might feel hard done by to miss out on a Test cap through his remarkable consistency backed by a phenomenal engine.

connachts-tom-mccartney-chased-by-leinsters-jonathan-sexton Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

Connacht must have been loathe to part ways with a native westerner such as McKeon, a battling veteran of 137 matches for his home province over a decade of service.

Adeolokun stands out as a shock among the list of 12. His rise was a hallmark of the Pat Lam era having been plucked from Tony Smeeth’s Trinity setup to ultimately earn an Ireland cap a little over two years after turning pro.

Grassroots to green shirts indeed.

The Dubliner was a dazzling element in a thrilling Connacht attack and the Sportsground intuitively rose to their feet whenever the wing was given any patch of open ground to exploit. Unfortunately, his final outings could not do justice to his existing highlight reel. 

niyi-adeolokun-scores-his-sides-fourth-try James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

At 29, he would surely have an array of options in any ordinary off-season, but that will come as cold comfort to Connacht supporters as more of their title winning side move on to another challenge. Not that they’re not used to it. In some ways it’s the story of that side.

Robbie Henshaw and AJ MacGinty were already bowing out when they helped bring silverware west of the Shannon and, of the 15 who started in Murrayfield on 28 May 2016, news from 29 May 2020 whittles the remaining number down to six.

Finlay Bealham and Ultan Dillane are all that remain of the pack. Tiernan O’Halloran, Matt Healy, Bundee Aki and Kieran Marmion from the backline – and the exit has called to a few of those men too.

Yet while they are in Connacht, they are potent weapons to have whenever rugby returns in whatever guise it can take. Last week’s announcement of new signings still signals Galway as a place to excite and energise talent that has slipped through the cracks in better-resourced provinces.

Every sporting body is facing reams of challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic with gate receipts not existing in the foreseeable future and a recession potentially leaving all revenue thin on the ground.

Connacht have always had to cut their cloth accordingly, but they will hope the hard work put into their academy and structures will be robust enough to lean on.

Perhaps we’ll even see the knock-on value of 2016′s impossible dream, a generation inspired by it.

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    Mute Ed Byrne
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    Jan 31st 2017, 4:01 PM

    Best of luck in the future Ben.

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    Mute Johnnie Sexton
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    Jan 31st 2017, 4:19 PM

    Unfortunately he won’t be the last I reckon. Great player, best of luck ben.

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    Mute Tom Reilly
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    Jan 31st 2017, 4:21 PM

    This is becoming an all too common occurrence. Years ago it was practically unheard of in Irish rugby. It has to beg the question if there are former rugby players suffering from undiagnosed concussion issues.

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    Mute hallelujah
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    Jan 31st 2017, 4:22 PM

    @Tom Reilly: unfortunately a lot of Irish media would rather attack other sports than examine Rugby and concussion. Sorry for Mr Marshall.

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    Mute Billy Malone
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    Jan 31st 2017, 4:35 PM

    3 Connacht players retired from concussion in the past year, crazy

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    Mute sean o'dhubhghaill
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    Jan 31st 2017, 4:46 PM

    What other sports? As far as I can see head injuries in rugby and how they are dealt with is a regular topic in many media outlets. I don’t see any other sports being ‘attacked’.

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    Mute hallelujah
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    Jan 31st 2017, 5:09 PM

    @sean o’dhubhghaill: have you ever seen Media, like Journal.ie coverage of GAA games? All you ever see is a foul or a “ruck”. You rarely see any of the goals or points.

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    Mute Rudiger McMonihan
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    Jan 31st 2017, 6:03 PM

    The reason there are more concussions now days is because theyre being diagnosed. I remember playing as a kid and seeing guys get knocked out and play on. We had no idea how dangerous it was. Im not old either. The focus on concussion is a very new thing, so you cant compare different generations. I dont think its a size thing either. Plenty of backs get knocked out because they have an extra 20m to build up speed and hit each other with far more momentum than a prop would picking off the back of a ruck

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    Mute Chris Mcdonnell
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    Jan 31st 2017, 7:44 PM

    Most of the knocks to the head I’ve had came from either the knee or hip when I was making a tackle.

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    Mute Limón Madrugada
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    Jan 31st 2017, 9:58 PM

    Hitting my own players knee and head hitting hard ground on a Spanish pitch after being knocked back ; there’s two examples of how I got concussed on a rugby pitch , did I know ? No .did I play on ? Yes , did any else notice ? Not really . Awareness is much higher today as is good medical advice .

    Rest of my concussions were from a ( flawless) Fosbury flop in my own back garden and being assaulted on the street .

    I applaud the new rules to protect against concussion but some will always happen regardless of the measures taken .

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    Mute Eugene Comaskey
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    Jan 31st 2017, 4:46 PM

    This concussion thing needs to be brought to a head. Obviously there is too much hard hitting, rough play, violence or something going on here. Obviously players are being put at risk of serious injury here. Since professionalism came into it there is far too much walloping, and idiots watching it thinks that it is brilliant, not so brilliant when lads may end up like Muhammad Ali. Parents need to stand up here and look after their sons before someone is killed at this walloping.

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    Mute Cowboy Paddy
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    Jan 31st 2017, 5:00 PM

    @Eugene Comaskey:
    My 10 cents on it is the height of the coalition, players are going higher to stop the off loading… The new rules in January should bring that down lower as a mistake in tackling higher could yield a Yellow or Red…

    The lower we force the tackle the more off loading there is? More Offloading the better the rugby..

    I would love to know what techniques or actions are causing concussions and we could address them

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    Mute blindside
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    Jan 31st 2017, 8:08 PM

    More people get concussed on a Saturday night out, yet people still go out at the weekends, do you think we should stop that too ?

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