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Connacht prop Buckley pens new deal
By Online Editors
Connacht Rugby have confirmed that prop Denis Buckley has signed a two-year contract extension that will see him remain at his home province until the end of the 2020-21 season. The Roscommon native has made over 150 appearances for Connacht since making his debut as an Academy player in 2011.
Buckley has previously been part of Irish underage squads at U18 and U20 level. In 2018, he played on the Barbarians side that defeated England in Twickenham.
He is ranked as the world's 23rd best loosehead prop in the RugbyPass Index, with an RPI of 78. His lineout score of 92 is the standout figure among his stats.
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In other news: Ireland and Leinster flanker Sean O'Brien to join London Irish in December
Announcing the contract extension, Connacht Head Coach Andy Friend said: “We are delighted that Denis has extended his contract for a further two seasons. He is a highly experienced prop who will be an important part of our plans in the years ahead. He is another one of our home grown players who grew up in the province and it is great to see him extend his time at the Sportsground.”
Commenting on his contract extension, Denis Buckley added: “I am proud of my involvement with Connacht and I am delighted to have signed a contract extension for a further two seasons. We have a squad of players who are hugely ambitious about what we can achieve at Connacht and I look forward to playing my part in those plans. I am fortunate to have played as a professional rugby player with my home province and I am grateful to everyone who has supported me on and off the field over the past few years.”
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Latest Comments
I'm not sure about the Earl incident. I recall him missing an important tackle but he's certainly a quick flanker. SB has him cover centre when doing 6-2, fortunately we've never had to see how that would play out.
I'm not getting on board I'm afraid. The fact that England are scoring tries and being competitive despite being so amazingly disorganised and managing to lose every match is even more frustrating. The players front up and make a good account of themselves physically but the defence since Felix Jones is so much less organised. Players are flying out the line all over the place, there is no cohesion at all... And the attack... Literally it's just Marcus Smith.. and a bit of Feyi Waboso. Almost every player in the backline has done nothing offensively because the structure just isn't there for it, there's nothing creative or innovative to challenge the defense. The last 20 mins against the Boks it was just runners on crash ball off the 9, over and over getting smashed behind the gainline and turned over. These players are capable of doing much better.
We did score tries under Eddie but the backs didn't create anything. It worked well for a while but when we no longer had a big pack with the likes of Haskell and the Vunipolas playing well, it stopped working very rapidly. Once we started losing the gainline and couldn't exert so much pressure through bullying, they suddenly all looked clueless and we finished 5th in consecutive six nations.
I'd love to be on board, I've watched every game for the last 15 years and what I see is just super frustrating. It's groundhog day. The same mistakes over and over and no sign of progress. They've pushed some good sides close in this series but there is no acknowledgement of the issues, they keep saying how close they are and they're a growing team etc... he's been in charge for 2 years and has hundreds of caps in the side. This will end poorly, he's not the right guy, but thank you for trying.
Go to commentsGreat but players do play like Oz too BS!!
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