Connacht

When Connacht beat Leinster 20–10 in the 2016 Pro12 Grand Final, it was a significant victory for the province.

The branch was set up on 8 December 1885, alongside the other three Irish provinces. The 2016 final changed what the province could point to.

Connacht play at Dexcom Stadium, a ground once known as the Galway Sportsground. In 2025 the province took a URC fixture against Munster to MacHale Park in Castlebar instead, and 25,000 people turned up.

Robbie Henshaw and Cian Healy both started in the Connacht system before moving on to Leinster, a route the province has grown used to seeing its better academy products take. Stuart Lancaster was appointed head coach in June 2025, taking over a side still built largely on players who came up through Galway rather than arrived from elsewhere.

Against Leinster in May 2016, Connacht won a first major title in 131 years.