Carty named Connacht captain for new season

Athlone's Jack Carty has been named as Connacht Rugby captain for the 2022-23 season.

Now regarded as one of the all-time Connacht greats, Carty was named as on-field captain for a large number of fixtures last season while supported by club captain Jarrad Butler who has held the role since 2018.

A native of Barrymore in Athlone, Carty will be supported by Butler and Bundee Aki who will act as vice-captains for the season.

Carty, who began his rugby career as a youngster with Buccaneers RFC, has made 180 appearances for Connacht and is on-track to surpass Eric Elwood as Connacht’s all-time points scorer during the forthcoming season.

Commenting on the announcement, Jack Carty said: "It’s a huge honour to become club captain of my home province. I first walked through the doors as a 14-year-old and if you said to me, I would play for Connacht never mind captaining the team, I would have laughed at you. None of this would ever have been possible if it wasn’t for my family, friends and teammates.

"It’s an incredibly humbling moment, and with that comes responsibility to ensure we proudly represent the people of Connacht, whether they are here in the actual province or in one of the four corners of the world - which we strive to do!

"I can’t wait to get back on the pitch again to lead in the best way possible, by performing.

"A special thanks to JB (Jarrad Butler) who I’ve learnt an incredible amount from the last few years and will continue to do so.

"I can’t wait to see everyone at the Sportsground, with our new surface, on the 7th of October," Jack added.

Connacht are preparing to play a pre-season friendly against Sale Sharks at Dubarry Park (home ground of Buccaneers) this Friday, August 26, kick-off 7pm.