It’s a double that nobody could have possibly predicted.
As underdog stories go, Connacht’s rise to the summit of Celtic rugby takes some beating.
The province remain level on points at the top of the Pro12, despite defeat in Belfast at the weekend, and are right in the thick of the battle for a place in the play-offs and a first ever league title.
But scrum-half John Cooney believes that, as impressive as their campaign is, another shocking sporting fairytale exceeds even their superb season, and says the Connacht squad are right behind Leicester City’s march towards Premier League glory.
“What they are doing in the Premier League is phenomenal. I’m cheering them on each week as I’d like to see them win the league,” Cooney said.
“I think theirs would be a bit more extreme than ours as we’ve been building each year, but it would be pretty impressive if we ended up winning both leagues.”
Cooney made his first start in four months against Ulster and the former Leinster nine admits the frustration of working his way back to full fitness has been eased somewhat by the fantastic buzz around the set-up this season.
“It’s nice to know we have something to aim for and that I can come back an contribute whatever I can,” said Cooney, who last month agreed a contract extension for next season.
“The first thing I noticed [when I got here from Leinster] was just how close everyone was. It’s like a community, everyone accepted everyone, there are no cliques in the team.
“Everyone hangs out together, it was pretty inclusive when I got here and that was the main thing I liked about it. There’s no egos around here.”
If the atmosphere is different to Cooney’s experience at Leinster, a pretty striking parallel is to be found in the coach’s office.
Having played under Joe Schmidt before the Kiwi took over the reigns of the national team in 2013, Cooney finds himself now working under an equally demanding but impressive boss in the shape of Pat Lam.
Both Schmidt and Lam have their coaching roots in Auckland and asked about the differences between the two, Cooney replied: “It’s more similarities to be honest.
“They are both pretty detailed in everything they do, they are always trying to get you into the most positive habits you can, small things you wouldn’t think about half the time.
“They both let you express yourself and let you play whatever type of rugby you want to play as long as you what they tell you to do. They are both pretty structured but it’s easy to fit into their gameplan once you do what they are asking. Then if you see an opportunity yourself you just take it.”
Cooney and Connacht will be hoping to express themselves this week in their Challenge Cup quarter-final against Grenoble.
The Westerners must travel to France, away from the fortress that is The Sportsground, but Cooney insists they are confident of fighting past Bernard Jackman’s Top 14 outfit.
“The way we’ve been performing week to week there is a lot of confidence in the team,” he said.
“There might even be more excitement about this week as we aren’t used to playing these types of games. We want to get a home semi-final and if we can do that we’ll be looking quite good to go the whole way. It’s meant to be dry weather so we’re licking our lips about playing a nice, open brand of rugby.”
Connacht Rugby star John Cooney was at The Sportsground, Galway, where Good4U were announced as the Official Snack Supplier of Connacht Rugby.
