CONNACHT HAVE REINFORCED their second row options by tying down Quinn Roux and Ultan Dillane on new two-year deals.
Both locks will remain with the western province until at least the summer of 2017.
South Africa native Roux joined Pat Lam’s squad on a loan deal from Leinster this season, having originally moved to Ireland in 2012. The 24-year-old struggled for extended game time at Leinster, but has thrived under Lam since his switch.
Roux’s contract was set to expire at the end of the current campaign, but Connacht have acted to ensure the former Stormers second row stays in Ireland for another two seasons.
Residency rules mean 6ft 5ins Roux qualifies to play for Joe Schmidt’s Ireland in August of this year.
Meanwhile, the new deal for 21-year-old Dillane speaks volumes of the potential the former Tralee RFC man possesses. The French-born lock has made four appearances for Connacht in the last two months, including a first start against Ulster in December.
Having originally come through the Youths system in Munster, Dillane was picked up by the Connacht academy and developed under the tutelage of Nigel Carolan. An Ireland international at U18 and U19 levels, Dillane is now learning swiftly from Connacht forwards coach Dan McFarland and will move onto a senior contract next season.
Lam welcomed news of both new contract deals:
“As a coaching team, we are very excited to have both Quinn and Ultan staying with Connacht for at least the next two years,” said Lam.
“They are both young, abrasive locks who have real physical presence. I believe with continued game time and exposure at this level, they have the potential to play for Ireland in the near future.
Quinn is someone who has impressed us all massively since he came in during the summer. His work ethic and desire to succeed on and off the field was apparent from day one. He has fit in extremely well with the rest of the squad and I know our supporters have really embraced him as well.
“It’s a very important part of our vision and succession planning to have players coming through from the Academy. Ultan is someone we have watched develop under the guidance of Nigel (Carolan) and Jimmy (Duffy).
“He seized his opportunity last month and displayed in all three inter pro games the talent he has. We’re delighted that he will be stepping up to the senior squad next year.”
Great news, Roux has been as good an addition as any other signing last summer
Connacht raiding Leinster again.
These lads never stop dipping into the Leinster squad/academy every time a player pops his head up, drops his guard – BAM – he’s off to Galway.
I wouldn’t mind if they looked after these players but they usually end up clapped out, run down and discarded.
These westies have no shame.
A prime example was young Ian Keatley, he went out west Looking to play some rugby ( a decent dublin lad who’s only crime was Johnny Sexton played the same position ) after flogging him within a proverbial inch they discard him, dismantle him and sell him for scrap to Munster.
The poor lad only ever wanted to play rugby and because of the way the westies treated him he’s now confined to wasting out his years in Limerick.
It’s similar to plenty of poor irish living on the streets of London ashamed to come home and admit their lives haven’t gone as well as they planned.
Amnesty international have started a petition to stop Connacht’s abuse of these naive young players but so far no ones listening, the cry TO HELL OR TO CONNACHT hundreds of years later haunts the island once again.
this can’t be serious?
You think?
Yeh I feel for the likes of Leinster,can’t be easy getting your players poached so regularly. Although apparently the rule now is that it’s okay once they aren’t regular starters.
Haha, good little rant! I think the joke seems to be lost on the vast majority of the readers who gave you the thumbs down. The ironing is indeed delicious.
I know joe, humours not allowed when it includes Munster and Connacht.
Brilliant!!
And when we pull a decent player ye stand off and let us keep them ? … *Cough cough* Robbie henshaw… Come on mate grow up ye slated roux
since the day he joined ye and he was hardly gonna get a look in
Ah now,it’s Connacht followers that want their team to be seen to be on an even level as the rest of the provinces. So it should be okay for players to be travelling in each direction…
Ah seriously,I like the slagging about it,but I’d like to see Connacht do well. Even as a Leinster fan who would love to have Henshaw,it’d be a real pity with regards what Connacht are trying to achieve if he left. However,if the player himself did want to join at whatever point,I don’t think anybody should complain. That’s only if it was what he wanted.
Leinster A and academy players are not the same as Henshaw who is possibly the best player ever produced by Connacht. Leinster produce more top quality lads than any other province, so it is in Ireland’s best interest if the guys who aren’t getting game time move to another province. I’m a Leinster fan 1st, but I’m happy to see Conway Jones and Keatley contribute to Munster.
No, not serious. Just much like COYBIB posts, tedious, condescending and lacking any real wit….
The moaning about Project Players too, will yisser fecking stop….!
Easterbunnies, Geoghegan and all the Exiles over the years were effectively project players FFS…
Sure send Strauss back to SA while you’re at it too, pretty sure his pronunciation of Amhrainn Na Bhfiann is at least as bad as the non-Irish speaking native Internationals…
You sir are a grade A idiot… Your description sounds strangely like how mike mc carthy is being treated in Leinster… Go figure..
The less project players playing for Ireland the better.
It’s a tad ridiculous that a player can play for a country after being there for only 3 years. Can he even become an Irish passport holder after 3 years?
If you are married to an Irish person it’s 3 years and if not it is 5 years. I think it is similar in a lot of countries. So 3 years isn’t that ridiculous when many people become full fledged citizens in the same amount of time.
That being said, I still think it is dirty for a Union to recruit a foreign player with the intention of turning them into an “Irishman”/”Frenchman”/”England” etc. It effectively turns international rugby into club rugby
Leinster robbing players again… oh wait…
Big difference between Roux finding a home in Connacht when Leinster wouldn’t play him and Leinster sniffing around Connacht’s star players Henshaw and Marmion, like a pig after a truffle.
Neither Henshaw or Marmion will move unless they want to.
Henshaw deal to Munster is as good as done.
The Sunday papers say its Leinster. Clone him.
This whole, lets make a NIQ player into a IQ player stuff is awful.
No problem with Dillane, who was raised here and has an irish mother..
But Quinn Roux is not Irish and living here 3 years shouldn’t make him eligible to play for Ireland. Same goes with Payne/Strauss/White/Stander etc.
I think you’re getting a bit carried away with Roux. He’s well behind the likes of Toner Henderson Foley touhy and Ryan. If he gets an Ireland Cap it will be after living here for well over 3 years. Diack was in Ireland for 8 years before getting his cap
If an international side are within top 8 on world rankings at any stage, they should be prohibited from having any “overseas” players qualify for them for, say 5 years. Never gonna happen though.