On Mondays, a player from Connacht Rugby has an opportunity to introduce themselves to the team. When it was Joe Joyce’s turn, he talked about his Bristol upbringing and Irish lineage, expressing his preference to represent only his birth city or his ancestral province throughout his career.
Joyce, a 30-year-old lock, is an individual who values emotional bond with a team he represents. While he could have spent his entire career at the Bristol Bears, he stated that if he were to leave, it would likely be for his loved Connacht.
His grandparents come from different regions in Ireland: Connemara, Tipperary, Loch Na Fooey (close to Clonbur at the Galway-Mayo boundary), and Thurles. Joyce candidly shares that his affinity for football, nurtured in Southmead, a football-centric Bristol suburb, lets him profess an emotional confrontation with rugby.
He affirms that his love for football and Bristol rugby cultivated his aspiration to don a Bristol jersey, emphasising his emotional investment. He connects deeply with his Irish roots through his father, who’s a proud Irishman despite sharing his son’s west country accent. Childhood holidays spent in Galway and Connemara kindled his affinity for Connacht.
Whenever he steps onto the field to represent Bristol or Connacht, Joyce states that he is not merely participating in a rugby match. Instead, he feels like an ambassador for his family and his lineage. This connection is something he believes cannot be replicated elsewhere.
Because of his lukewarm affection for rugby, he considers this representation of something larger than the game a critical motivator for him to perform at his best. Paralleling his father’s fandom, Joyce is a supporter of Bristol City and Arsenal.
Despite hailing from Bristol, where supporting your hometown football teams is a matter of course, living in Galway evokes a sense of missing witnessing Arsenal and Bristol City’s live matches. Before relocating here, I used to frequent the Emirates to catch around a dozen games live in a year,” reminisces Joyce. His ongoing professional journey is yet another fascinating chapter in the long-standing connection between Connacht and Bristol. The bond, evident in the consistent interchange of players and coaches, came to the fore last Saturday as Pat Lam paired Kieran Marmion and AJ MacGinty, evoking Connacht’s 2016 Pro12 final glory upon achieving a 40-35 victory for the Bears at Exeter, thereby propelling them to the leader board’s top.
In 2022, Lam, with only a year left on Joyce’s contract, proposed a three-year extension and a tribute to the 29-year-old. Having almost joined Connacht earlier on loan, Joyce reached out to Connacht CEO Willie Ruane, seeking his potential interest. The response was affirmative. The conundrum? To remain at Bristol or to take on an exciting, unfamiliar endeavour?
“Timing isn’t always yours. So when Connacht showed interest, the decision had to be instantaneous. It invoked emotions, but wasn’t tough. Lam barely expressed surprise when I told him at his residence,” recounts Joyce.
Observing from the exterior, it seems as if Connacht is harnessing ambitious energy. The acquisition of Josh Ioane, Santiago Cordero, and another recruit from Bristol, Piers O’Conor, along with the three-sided Dexcom scheme, signal this intent.
“It’s peculiar. Amidst this potential is the irony of practicing amidst a construction site. The fruits of our labour won’t be immediate, but certainly worthwhile.”
Anticipating tonight’s match, a 6,117 sell-out incidentally, against Leinster, Joyce adds, “Since relocating here, I relish the interprovincial matches the most. The energy in last week’s match against Ulster was exceptional. I was not a part of last year’s similar game, where we suffered a loss at the eleventh hour.”
Joyce, a rugby player, was not chosen. “They told me it was simply rotation, but we all know what rotation truly means,” he says, with a chuckle. His journey with rugby started when he was just five years old, which later became a mix of rugby and football from the age of eight. Joyce grew up with his twin sister, Emily, on a council estate in Southmead, a suburb.
To the people outside the council estate, it may not seem like the nicest place, but it boasts a tight-knit community. Joyce fondly speaks of going back there and interacting with the people. Despite the area not being wealthy, it beams with pride.
Joining Bristol academy at 14 escalated his rugby career. A turning point was when he went to Filton College at 17, as it made him realise that rugby could pave a way for him. He represented England in the Under-18s schools and clubs against Ireland Under-18s. “I remember competing against Peter Dooley, who I’m now playing with,” he says.
Fast forward two years, Joyce played for Ireland Under-20s against the England Under-20s in Franklin’s Gardens. He amusingly recalls: “I’ve been in both teams’ changing rooms and listened to both the team talks, and believe me, the Irish are definitely more passionate about this match than the English.”
Joyce’s path to professional rugby commenced with Bristol Under-14s, later advancing through their academy and playing for them over 150 times during nine seasons. His time with the team was filled with promotions, demotions, stadium changes, and a myriad of other changes, keeping it feeling fresh. The pinnacle of his career was when his team clinched the European Challenge Cup against Toulon in 2019-20 in Aix-en-Provence. “I initiated that game, which marked the club’s maiden major trophy,” says Joyce.
Joyce has no regrets about his decision to move to Connacht, both professionally and personally. He and Lauren enjoy taking their Shih Tzus, Gunner and Four, on day trips to Connemara, especially to places like Oughterard or Clifden. He laughs, saying, “Although the dogs can’t speak, they clearly love it, especially Pine Island.”
Lauren has communicated her desire to reside in Galway to him already, and his parents are constantly visiting them, making their home seem like it’s an Airbnb where they just drop their belongings and vanish. Joyce appreciates the diversity brought about by a tournament that features teams from five different nations. His first season was marked by numerous firsts, including his debut, playing in Ulster.
Initially, he struggled with the travelling part. He recalls how they had to play in Edinburgh’s chilly three degrees on a Friday night and then in Durban’s scorching 35 degrees on Monday. The league has some tough matchups, but he believes there are no easy matches in the Premiership.
Joyce acknowledges that Connacht’s performance took a serious downturn towards the end of the previous season. However, he is quick to add that they started off impressively and feels that this season feels different. He attributes this to the large, talented squad they have, particularly the young players, and believes they are well-positioned.
He draws motivation from the array of tries Connacht are scoring and working with John Muldoon from Bristol. He adds, the one thing he discovered after his move is that all Rugby players are the same kind of unusual, hence they’ll all get along.
He also enjoys playing at home. Dexcom Stadium may be small, but it is incredibly loud during matches. Fans in Bristol are enthusiastic too, but the attention can get overwhelming while in Galway, it is a quick, respectful interaction and then life goes on. He appreciates the more relaxed lifestyle and the respect individuals show him in Galway.
While his primary objective with Connacht is to win titles, he indicates his ambition with a specific example. Reflecting on his triumph in the Challenge Cup, he says that while it might be a short run, winning every game in your pool can land you home fixtures in the knockout stages. He believes your destiny is in your own hands. If you win all of your group games and are among the top three seeds, every match leading up to the final can be a home game.
“It’s high time we recognise the potential that lies before us. It’s hard to recall from a distance when Connacht had home advantage in a knock-out contest.”
Aside from a two-part Round of 16 Champions Cup match-up against Leinster about three seasons earlier, Connacht previously held a single knock-out match at their home ground where they unfortunately experienced a 33-28 defeat to Gloucester in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals back in March 2018.
“Our followers are simply incredible. They travel to Pau to cheer us on, and just as quickly, they’re supporting us in the quarter-finals at Benetton. Truthfully speaking though, it’s only the supporters who can afford such a trip or manage to take time off work who can experience it. So, let’s bring the excitement back to Galway, so that all of our fans have the chance to savour the thrills of European knock-out rugby.”
What a feasible and thrilling objective, wouldn’t you say?”