However, rugby union in Connacht has expanded significantly with increased ticket sales and stadium expansion,[3] in particular since its first season competing in the Heineken Cup.

Through the efforts of the Connacht Branch and the support of the IRFU, the province has experienced growth, increasing its underage and schools participation through initiatives such as the Grassroots to Greenshirts campaign.

[4] Connacht enjoyed their most significant senior success in 2016, when they defeated fellow Irish province Leinster in the 2016 Pro12 Grand Final to win the competition for the first time.

[15] McLoughlin also became the first Connacht representative for the Lions when he took part in the 1966 tour to Australia and New Zealand,[16] though he was playing his club rugby for Gosforth in England at the time.

[19] However, towards the end of the amateur era in the 1990s, this edict was reversed with the Championship also contested by the Irish Exiles team, consisting of Irish-qualified players in Britain and France.

The inaugural Challenge Cup, then also known as the European Shield, saw Connacht finish fourth from six teams in their group, which also contained Toulon and the Northampton Saints.

With the Union holding a tight grip on the purse strings Connacht continued to struggle in the Celtic League, finishing in tenth place from 11 in both the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons.

Examples include the transfers of Gavin Duffy from Harlequins, Johnny O'Connor from London Wasps and Frank Murphy from Leicester Tigers.

The 2007–08 Celtic League saw the competition reduced to ten teams, following the exit of Border Reivers, and the season ended with Connacht bottom of the table, having won only five of their 18 matches.

[31] With crowds of more than 8,000 at both the quarter and semi-final stages of the Challenge Cup, and average gates of 2,600 in the Celtic League, Connacht's structures and support had improved drastically from 2003, when the team's survival was in question.

[34] Ahead of their first season in European Rugby's premier club competition, Gavin Duffy replaced John Muldoon as captain of the team.

In the final game of their pool, however, they managed an upset, beating Harlequins 9–8 in the Sportsground, which prevented the Premiership club from topping the group, and knocked them down into the Challenge Cup.

On 21 December 2013, they overcame Newport Gwent Dragons 14–11 at home to break their league losing streak stretching back to September.

In the third round of pool games Connacht produced one of the biggest shocks in the history of the Heineken Cup when they defeated Toulouse in the Stade Ernest-Wallon.

In the 2014–15 Pro12, Connacht enjoyed their best season since the competition changed to a round-robin format, winning a record 10 games, including home derbies against provincial rivals Leinster and Munster on their way to finishing seventh.

They finished in third place in their pool, level on points with Toulouse in second to narrowly miss out on qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition for the first time.

[59] The assistant coach of Super Rugby side the Chiefs, Kieran Keane, was named as Pat Lam's replacement in February 2017, to take over ahead the start of the 2017–18 season.

[63] The end of the 2017–18 season also saw the departure of long-serving player and captain John Muldoon who had made 327 appearances in his record-breaking career with the province.

[75][76][77][78] In spite of the increased production line of native talent, Connacht continues to rely on its traditional policy of bringing in players from outside its jurisdiction that have failed to progress to their senior provincial team to help make up its playing numbers.

This trend has continued in the professional era with the record-holder for points scored, Ian Keatley, and leading try-scorer Matt Healy both being from Dublin, while Munster-native players like Seán Cronin and Ultan Dillane have earned Ireland caps while playing for the team.

The team's out-half, Ian Keatley moved to Munster,[82] while hooker Seán Cronin, tighthead prop Jamie Hagan and winger Fionn Carr all transferred to Leinster.

Of the 25 senior clubs currently operating in Connacht,[10] only Ballina, Buccaneers, Galway Corinthians, Galwegians and Sligo compete in the highest level of amateur rugby in the country, the All-Ireland League.

[93][94] Despite having finished ahead of their rivals in the table, progressed further than them in the competition and beaten them in the head-to-head game, the IRFU persisted with its policy and Leinster were entered in the 2003–04 Heineken Cup as the top Irish seeds.

Leinster's successes meant that they were automatically qualified for the following year, leaving an open Irish qualification berth which was filled by Connacht.

[99] The 2015–16 season marked a major breakthrough for Connacht, as a second-place finish in the Pro12 table followed by victory in the grand final saw the team qualify for the top tier of European competition on their own steam for the first time.

[111] The ultimate stated aim for the province is a stadium with a capacity of at least 10,000 spectators,[112] that has full covering on all stands and the ability to cater for a wide variety of fans.

[116] On 9 June 2022 Connacht announced that first phase of redevelopment had commenced with full excavation of the pitch at the Dexcom Stadium underway, to allow a new artificial playing surface for the coming season.

[118] On 19/01/2024, Connacht Rugby announced a Sponsorship agreement with Dexcom Inc., a US Company and world-leader in producing and distributing continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems for the management of diabetes.

These arms are said to have been granted to Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, the reigning King of Connacht, by the Schottenkloster, or Irish monastery, that was founded in the Bavarian city of Regensburg in the 11th century.

Props Hookers Locks Back row Scrum-halves Fly-halves Centres Wings Fullbacks Props Hookers Locks Back row Scrum-halves Fly-halves Centres Wings Fullbacks Gold background denotes championsSilver background denotes runner-up * After dropping into the competition from the Champions Cup/Heineken Cup Qualifying matches for 2015/16 and 2017/18 ERCC were played at the end of the previous seasons (2014/15 and 2016/17 respectively).