There was no upside to Connacht losing their first home game of the season against the Stormers last Friday night. The sense of anti-climax was thick in the Galway air. But undoubtedly the biggest positive about returning to training on Monday morning was the shift in focus to Friday’s match against Benetton in Treviso.
As their centre Cathal Forde put it: “We play it and everyone watches it to watch rugby, not to watch training. We want to be playing games every weekend, so it’s nice to be back into the flow of the season.”
For all the midfield options at Connacht’s disposal, Forde has been something of a fulcrum for the team. He started in 18 of his 21 appearances for the province last season, while he was also one of their strongest performers last Friday.
He played in the 26-15 home win over Benetton on the opening day of last season, as well as the entertaining 38-30 win at the Dexcom the season before. But Benetton are a different proposition at their Stadio Comunale di Monigo. Connacht and Forde know this from their last two visits there three seasons ago, when beaten back-to-back, a fortnight part, in the URC and Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
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“The weather was astronomically different in the two games,” said Forde, recalling a rain-sodden 18-14 loss at the end of March and a sun-drenched 39-24 Challenge Cup exit in the middle of April.
“The first game was a tough game where we were neck-and-neck up until the last minute, and they managed to get a breakaway try on the edge, which was disappointing.
“And then the Challenge Cup game was a difficult defeat as well. The weather was challenging with the heat, but we’re definitely a different side now. I think we’re better prepared going into it and going over there.
“A lot of lads in the team probably would have played in them games as well, so there’s a lot more experience and the lads are ready and know what’s coming.”
Lessons from those two defeats can be taken into Friday’s game.
“They’re such a passionate country, and Benetton as well are such a passionate side,” said Forde. “So, it’s so important for us to be on it from the start and be clinical and not give them entries that their fans can get behind and get energy from. That’s such a focus for us as well, to start well.”
Connacht had prepped for a typically aggressive defence from the Stormers last week.
“Unfortunately, we just weren’t clinical enough in our execution against it. We have more South African teams to come, so we’ll definitely have more opportunity to play against it. Benetton will bring a different challenge and a different defence, so all we can do is focus on what they’re doing and try and find ways to beat them.”
A Galway lad, Forde is a product of the ‘The Jes’, Coláiste Iognáid, and Corinthians, where he started playing mini rugby and remained through and after school.
Forde’s grandfather Tony is a former president of the IRFU and his father Tom was a prop with Old Crescent and then Corinthians, after his job as a bank manager with Bank of Ireland took him and his family from Limerick to Galway. Forde’s first cousin, John, also played as a lock for Corinthians before moving to Cork, where he played for Constitution while in the Munster academy, and is now with Blackrock.
Forde was named the Division 2B player of the season in the 2021-22 season, which was also his first in the Connacht academy. He owes “a huge amount” to his hometown club and the AIL.
“The coaching I got up there, I was honestly so lucky,” he said, namechecking the long-standing underage coach, mentor and club volunteer Niall Browne.
“The quality of coaching was class. I started when I was eight, up to 20s, then into the senior team with JP Cooney, who’s obviously a Connacht legend as well, and had some unbelievable years.
“To be able to still play with lads like Eoin de Buitléar, who I’ve played with since I was about 12, 13, and then to be able to play with lads like Shane Jennings, Darragh (Murray), who I’ve played against then as well, is pretty special.”
Forde cut his teeth as a 10 before playing as a 12 in the Irish Under-20s and flitted between the two with Corinthians. He made his Connacht debut at outhalf away to Glasgow in January 2021, but of his ensuing 55 starts, 43 have been at inside centre, with the remaining dozen at outside centre.
“I started my career as a 10. I always enjoyed playing 10, but I think centre is kind of my position now. As long as I’m on the pitch, I’m happy to play in the back row or the front row. I reckon centre is probably my strongest position, but I’m happy to fill the 10 jersey.”
Forde has a generational logjam ahead of him in the Irish midfield, but he is on Andy Farrell’s radar. He was a development player in the 2025 Six Nations and played for Ireland ‘A’ last season. At 25-years-old, he has age on his side and as a left-footed, physically strong, playmaking 12 and sometime 13 who is a former outhalf, offers a different profile. A part of a wider Irish training squad in early September, more ‘A’ opportunities this season seem likely.
