Browne, Cannon And Ronaldson Return For Connacht
Experienced lock Andrew Browne comes back into the Connacht team for Friday’s GUINNESS PRO14 match against the Ospreys at the Sportsground (kick-off 7.35pm).
Also back from injury, James Cannon and Craig Ronaldson return in the second row and at out-half respectively. With Bundee Aki away on international duty, Tom Farrell and Eoin Griffin form the centre pairing. Likewise, with Kieran Marmion’s absence, Caolin Blade starts at scrum half.
Having recently announced that he will retire at the end of this season, John Muldoon will captain the side from his usual number 8 position. He will be joined in the back row by Eoghan Masterson at blindside flanker and openside Naulia Dawai.
During this next crucial block of four games in the GUINNESS PRO14, Connacht take on three of their Conference rivals, including a trip to South Africa to play the Toyota Cheetahs.
Head coach Kieran Keane is well aware of how significant the upcoming fixtures are and the need to get off to a good start against the Ospreys this weekend. “We are up for this game, we know the importance of it,” he said.
“This is a really important block of games for us and will have a big bearing on our PRO14 season. We have a quarter-final in the Challenge Cup to look forward to later in the season, but there is a lot of rugby to play before that, so our focus is firmly on the league at the moment.”
CONNACHT (v Ospreys): Tiernan O’Halloran; Cian Kelleher, Eoin Griffin, Tom Farrell, Matt Healy; Craig Ronaldson, Caolin Blade; Denis Coulson, Tom McCartney, Conor Carey, Andrew Browne, James Cannon, Eoghan Masterson, Naulia Dawai, John Muldoon (capt).
Replacements: Shane Delahunt, Peter McCabe, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, Gavin Thornbury, James Connolly, James Mitchell, Jack Carty, Pita Ahki.