Connacht Rugby have named their matchday squad for this weekend’s away game against Lyon as the men of the west head to France.
Connacht will play Lyon at Stade de Gerland this Saturday as they look for a badly needed win in the Investec Champions Cup.
The match kicks off at 1pm Irish time on Saturday, and viewers at home can watch on TNT Sports and the SKYGO app.
Commenting ahead of the game, head coach Pete Wilkins said that the Connacht squad have been working full steam ahead this past week to get ready for Lyon.
“Preparations have been going really well for this trip to France. We gave the group a few days to recover after the Munster game which was important”.
“Then we came in last Thursday and Friday to review, which then allowed us the full week to prep for Lyon. So the build-up has gone really well.”
Michael McDonald is handed his first Connacht start at scrum-half, while Matthew Devine could make his Connacht debut with the Ballinasloe man named among the replacements.
Captain Jack Carty partners McDonald from out-half, while Tom Daly and Tom Farrell are named at centre. Shayne Bolton will be hoping to continue his good run of form on the wing, with Andrew Smith and full-back JJ Hanrahan completing the back three.
The front row consists of Peter Dooley, Dylan Tierney-Martin and Jack Aungier, while Darragh Murray and Joe Joyce are paired together in the second row.
Sean Jansen returns from injury to start at number 8, with flankers Cian Prendergast and Jarrad Butler alongside them.
“Lyon like many French teams have plenty of talented individuals who will punish you if given the opportunity,” Pete Wilkins added.
“We’ll travel down there aiming to put our stamp on the game and if we do that and play to our ability, we’ll have a great chance.”
CONNACHT RUGBY MATCHDAY 23 VS LYON RUGBY
13:00, Saturday 13th January 2024 @ Stade de Gerland
15. JJ Hanrahan (10)
14. Andrew Smith (5)
13. Tom Farrell (105)
12. Tom Daly (79)
11. Shayne Bolton (8)
10. Jack Carty (202) (C)
9. Michael McDonald (3)
1. Peter Dooley (27)
2. Dylan Tierney-Martin (32)
3. Jack Aungier (59)
4. Darragh Murray (18)
5. Joe Joyce (9)
6. Cian Prendergast (57)
7. Jarrad Butler (120)
8. Sean Jansen (3)
16. Tadgh McElroy (8)
17. Denis Buckley (238)
18. Dominic Robertson-McCoy (83)
19. Oisín Dowling (51)
20. Conor Oliver (73)
21. Matthew Devine *
22. David Hawkshaw (20)
23. Shane Jennings (6)
