The Connacht squad have been named for this Sunday’s away game against Stade Francais in their final pool game of the Champions Cup.
Two changes have made been made to the lineup that will be heading to France on Saturday from the side that faced Leicester last week, with props Jordan Duggan and Greg McGrath coming into the team.
They’re joined in the front row by hooker Shane Delahunt, while Oisin Dowling, Niall Murray, Cian Prendergast, Conor Oliver and Jarrad Butler make up the rest of the pack.
There are four changes in the backs, with Caolin Blade, Mack Hansen, Tom Farrell and Alex Wootton all named in the starting XV.
Jack Carty again captains the side from out-half, Sammy Arnold moves from 13 to 12, and full-back Tiernan O’Halloran is retained for his 199th Connacht appearance.
Connacht also opened their Heineken Champions Cup campaign this year with an extremely impressive 36-9 victory over the French juggernaut last month.
Despite the possibility of qualifying for the knockout stages before kick-off, Connacht are putting a strong team on the field, and Head Coach Andy Friend said that they’re only thinking of the game ahead of them.
“For us we’re not thinking about results elsewhere. All we’re focused on is going to Paris, take what we learned from last week and hopefully finish our Pool stage on a high.”
“If we can do that then we can celebrate a great achievement of reaching knockout rugby in this competition.”
“With dry weather and their 4G pitch it’s looking like it’ll be a fast-tempo game, so we’ve selected a side that reflects that.”
Connacht Rugby and Stade Francais will meet at Stade Jean-Bouin this Sunday, January 23, with kick-off at 1pm Irish time.
The full Connacht squad for the coming match is:
15. Tiernan O’Halloran (198)
14. Alex Wootton (26)
13. Tom Farrell (68)
12. Sammy Arnold (27)
11. Mack Hansen (8)
10. Jack Carty (170) (C)
9. Caolin Blade (140)
1. Jordan Duggan (20)
2. Shane Delahunt (111)
3. Greg McGrath (1)
4. Oisín Dowling (15)
5. Niall Murray (25)
6. Cian Prendergast (19)
7. Conor Oliver (31)
8. Jarrad Butler (84)
Replacements
16. Dave Heffernan (154)
17. Charlie Ward *
18. Sam Illo *
19. Leva Fifita (4)
20. Paul Boyle (64)
21. Colm Reilly (6)
22. Conor Fitzgerald (44)
23. Diarmuid Kilgallen (5)
