Guinness PRO14 interviews brought to you by [Big Red Cloud](https://www.bigredcloud.com/) **Sean Holley exclusively interviews Connacht coach Andy Friend** Andy Friend has barely been at Connacht for two years but the Australian has taken to the west of Ireland way of life and been rewarded by becoming something of an adopted son in the region. Despite being arguably the least fashionable – and, historically, the least successful – of the four Irish provinces, there is something unique about Connacht and the loyalty they show to their heroes is unmatched. Friend may still have a way to go to match the feats of Pat Lam or John Muldoon – the coach and captain of the history-making PRO12 champion side in 2016 who will likely never have to buy a drink in Galway again – but he has made a good start. The head coach led them to the Guinness PRO14 Final Series in his debut season last year, and had them well in contention when the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the current campaign, but admits his love affair with the region began long before he became coach in the summer of 2018. *“What struck Kerri – my wife – and I is that when we came across to Connacht to meet with them, I was so impressed by the people we met,” Friend told Sean Holley.* *“You could see they were genuine people. It is the west of Ireland, I think in order to live here you need to be a special kind of person and they tend to be, from my experience, very honest and salt-of-the-Earth people.* *“Galway is a brilliant city; it has a heartbeat of its own and it is a great place to enjoy yourself.* *“When I was coaching Quins we happened to play against Connacht in 2007 and I remember landing here. I hadn’t heard much about it before and typically it was pissing with wind and rain.* *“I was thinking this game is definitely not going to go ahead but we get to the Sportsground and it was chock-a-block with fans! Even the uncovered areas were chock-a-block and I was thinking ‘who are these people?’ You wouldn’t get that in Australia – people would not come out in the rain.* *“As an opposing coach, you are up in the stands and you are getting ripped by the locals who are proud of Connacht and everything they did!* *“We won 19-18 but it was a tough exchange and I remember walking out thinking ‘wow, there is a real spirit here and these blokes played some footie we were not expecting’.* *“I think teams come to Connacht and they often get a surprise with what team turns up and what they produce on the field.”* Connacht were fourth in Conference B when the pandemic brought a halt to rugby, trailing third-place Scarlets by just two points. Players maintaining fitness and coaches staying in contact with their squads has been a challenge for every club during lockdown but Friend gave his troops three simple directives to follow. *“When we went into this, we said there were three big things for us as a squad that we really wanted to focus in on,” he added.* *“Number one: do whatever you need to do to keep yourself and your family safe. Everyone is in different situations – some have kids, some with elderly parents, some on their own.* *“Number two: stay connected. The great thing with footie programmes are that you are always connected. You are always chatting to someone.* *“We did not want to stop doing that. Our leadership groups bring the squad up themselves, then the coaching staff touch base with different people via Zoom chats or WhatsApp.* *“The third thing was to come back better at something. It might be fitter – hopefully not fatter! It might be a better reader, a better husband – it could be anything but be better at something.”* Friend’s rugby journey has been a winding one – coaching at Harlequins from 2005 to 2008, having a spell at Canberra-based Super Rugby side Brumbies, spending time as a head coach in the Japanese Top League and then leading Australia 7s, before heading to Connacht. But before all of that, he was a skills coach at Brumbies around the turn of the millennium and worked under current England coach Eddie Jones. Jones is a notoriously abrasive character – with the media, his players and his fellow coaches – but Friend says working with his fellow Australian was the making of him. *"In order to get on with Eddie, at one stage you have to stand for something,” explained Friend. “We had our moment 12-18 months into our relationship but now knowing him for over 20 years he was basically challenging my thoughts.* *“I now know it was probably a test for him to see if this bloke is going to stand his ground or can I ride over the back of him?* *“I stood my ground and it was quite confrontational – you can imagine two Aussies going at each other. I walked out but the next moment he was fine and ever since then we have not had an issue.* *“Eddie has a great way of testing people and ever since that moment he has been a brilliant mentor to me and a great friend. I owe him a lot.”*
