Connacht rugby director Andy Friend airs frustration at in-game delays

Andy Friend says the stop-start nature of recent games is as off-putting for coaches and players as it is for supporters.

Connacht's match against the Bulls last weekend went on for 123 minutes due to a number of stoppages and TMO checks while six of the other seven round-three fixtures in the BKT United Rugby Championship also hovered around the two-hour mark.

Bulls coach Jake White voiced his frustrations at the mandatory water-break rule, which was introduced to stop the number of runners coming onto the pitch during matches, and Friend called for common sense to prevail over the coming weeks to shorten the length of games.

"I reckon it is an issue if we don't contain it," said the Connacht director of rugby. "Spectators don't come to have these large pauses in play where there's decisions being made, and they can't hear what's going on. That becomes frustrating.

"Players and coaches, we don't play the game to have all these long breaks either. There's a few things to tidy up with it. Let's hope these are the longest games that we'll get and common sense will prevail over the coming few weeks, and we can shorten the game.

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Donncha O'Callaghan aired his frustrations about the on-field delays exemplified during Munster's win over Zebre

"I didn't see an issue with what we had before [with water breaks]. If a bloke’s thirsty, give him a drink of water. It wasn't adding time to the game, it was just servicing the players who are out there trying to give their best.

"But now,