Aki, Dillane, and Heffernan return from Irish squad for Connacht v Cardiff

Bundee Aki, Ultan Dillane and Dave Heffernan have returned from the Irish International side to start for Connacht against the Cardiff Blues on Saturday.

The Cardiff Blues are coming to Galway to face Connacht at the Sportsground tomorrow, with kick-off at 7:35pm.

Connacht and Cardiff are currently placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in Conference B of the Guinness PRO14, with six points separating them.

Jared Butler will be captaining once again, while prop Jordan Duggan is making his first starting appearance in seven games.

“It’s great to welcome Dave, Ultan and Bundee back into the fold, and they’re re-joining an already healthy group of players,” Head Coach Andy Friend said of the team selection.

“We had tough news for Quinn Roux and Peter Robb this week but overall we’re in a good spot and that’s allowed us to pick a squad based on form.”

“We have a great opportunity to keep the pressure on Munster at the top while opening some daylight between ourselves and the chasing pack.

“We know our home form isn’t where it should be so this is our opportunity to put that right”.

Connacht has had a rough run at the Sportground so far this year, with three successive losses at their home field, one two the Ospreys and two against Munster.

However, their last match in the PRO14 went better, with a 30-20 win over the Dragon’s at Rodney Field.