The Connacht squad that will take on Leinster at the Sportsground tomorrow in the URC has been announced.
There have been seven changes made to the side since the disastrous outing against Edinburgh earlier this month.
Denis Buckley, Niall Murray, Jarrad Butler, Kieran Marmion, Oran McNulty, Tom Farrell and Tiernan O’Halloran all come into the starting 15.
The backs are completed by captain Jack Carty, centre Tom Day and winger John Porch, while the tight five features hooker Dave Heffernan, tighthead prop Jack Aungier, and lock Oisín Dowling.
There are no changes on either flank meaning Cian Prendergast and Conor Oliver are retained.
Connacht will no doubt be hoping that the home crowd support will give them a boost after a disappointing performance against Edinburgh.
After establishing an 8-0 lead against the Scottish side at the DAM Health Stadium, Edinburgh ultimately had it all their own way, finishing at 56-8.
“It’s been three weeks since our last game so we’ve had a long time to dwell on the Edinburgh performance and understand what happened,” Connacht Head Coach Andy Friend said.
Since then, Connacht have gotten two solid weeks of training in under their belts, Friend added.
“There’s been no talk about the Champions Cup games because tomorrow is a massive fixture in its own right.”
This is the first of three fixtures against Leinster which Connacht have in the next four weeks, as the Champions Cup knock games start in two weeks time.
Andy Friend said, “Our backs are against the wall if we’re to reach the playoffs and with a massive crowd behind us I’m sure all 23 men will put in a performance I know they’re capable of.”
Only a handful of tickets remain available for tomorrow’s game at connachtrugby.ie/tickets, and it is not expected that any will be available at the gates on the day.
The full Connacht Squad for the coming game is:
Number/Name/Caps
15. Tiernan O’Halloran (201)
14. John Porch (52)
13. Tom Farrell (73)
12. Tom Daly (57)
11. Oran McNulty (7)
10. Jack Carty (173) (C)
9. Kieran Marmion (202)
1. Denis Buckley (203)
2. Dave Heffernan (158)
3. Jack Aungier (26)
4. Oisin Dowling (20)
5. Niall Murray (30)
6. Cian Prendergast (24)
7. Conor Oliver (35)
8. Jarrad Butler (90)
Replacements
16. Jonny Murphy (19)
17. Matthew Burke (34)
18. Greg McGrath (4)
19. Ultan Dillane (125)
20. Paul Boyle (70)
21. Caolin Blade (144)
22. Sammy Arnold (33)
23. Diarmuid Kilgallen (6)
