Mayo man maintains starting place in Connacht team for Sharks test
Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins has named his match day squad for the BKT United Rugby Championship clash against the Hollywoodbets Sharks at Dexcom Stadium.
The game will be played in the Galway city venue tomorrow (Saturday) at 7.35 p.m.
While Mayo man Dave Heffernan maintains his place in the front row, there are four changes overall from the side that narrowly lost to Munster last week.
Niall Murray and Shane Jennings come in for the injured Joe Joyce and Shayne Bolton, while Finlay Bealham and debutant David O’Connor replace Jack Aungier and Darragh Murray, who were both selected for the Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa.
Meanwhile, it’s a landmark appearance for prop Denis Buckley, who will make his 250th appearance for the club. The Roscommon man becomes just the third player to reach the milestone – after John Muldoon and Michael Swift – and lines out beside Heffernan and Bealham in a front row of three double centurions.
The only change on the 6-2 bench sees Paul Boyle wear the number 23 shirt in place of Sean Jansen, who has also linked up with Emerging Ireland.
The game is sold out for what will be the first competitive fixture at Dexcom Stadium during the redevelopment. Limited hospitality tickets are still available at connachtrugby.ie/tickets.
Looking forward to the game, Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins said: “Our intensity and overall performance last week was encouraging despite the bitter disappointment of the result. Against a very strong Sharks team we will require a repeat of that effort along with evidence of growth in our game from round one.
“Picking up home wins in such a tight league will be crucial, and I know the sold-out Dexcom crowd will provide huge energy to the lads regardless of the slightly different surroundings.”
Wilkins added: “It’s an important day for two of our players, for very different reasons, with Denis earning his 250th cap and David O’Connor making his debut. We’re determined to give them a fitting performance.”
The Connacht starting XV is as follows: Santiago Cordero, Mack Hansen, Piers O’Conor, Cathal Forde, Shane Jennings, Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Niall Murray, David O’Connor, Josh Murphy, Conor Oliver, Cian Prendergast.
On the replacements' bench are: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Peter Dooley, Sam Illo, Oisín Dowling, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Caolin Blade, David Hawkshaw, Paul Boyle.