Kieran Marmion will become the fifth Connacht player to reach 200 caps when he lines out for the province away to Scarlets tomorrow night (7.35pm)
The scrum-half made his debut in September 2012 and has enjoyed an illustrious career since then, winning the PRO12 title in 2016 and earning 28 caps for Ireland – with the most notable as starting scrum-half in the win over New Zealand in 2018.
He joins John Muldoon, Michael Swift, Denis Buckley and more recently Tiernan O’Halloran as members of the Connacht 200 club.
In all there are six changes from the side that lined out against Ulster two weeks ago, with internationals Jack Carty and Dave Heffernan returning from Ireland camp to take their place in the side.
Heffernan starts alongside Jordan Duggan and Tietie Tuimauga in the front row, with locks Niall Murray alongside Leva Fifita. The back-row consists of Paul Boyle at number 8 beside flankers Cian Prendergast and Jarrad Butler.
Tom Daly and Sammy Arnold resume their centre partnership while John Porch, who makes his 50th appearance for the club, moves to the wing with Peter Sullivan on the opposite wing and Tiernan O’Halloran at full-back.
Commenting on the team announcement, Head Coach Andy Friend says:
“We resumed training at the end of last week after a short break to reset and recharge the batteries. We can already tell the break was beneficial, and everyone is really eager to put the last few results behind us and try get a vital win.
It’s another historic occasion for one of our players with Kieran Marmion earning his 200th cap. Even on the eve of a milestone like this he’s arguably playing some of the best rugby of his career, which is a testament to him and how he looks after himself. Congratulations to him and everyone who helped him on his journey.”
CONNACHT RUGBY MATCHDAY 23 VS SCARLETS
Saturday 19th February, 19:35 @ Parc y Scarlets
Number/Name/Caps
15. Tiernan O’Halloran (200)
14. Peter Sullivan (18)
13. Sammy Arnold (30)
12. Tom Daly (54)
11. John Porch (49)
10. Jack Carty (171) (C)
9. Kieran Marmion (199)
1. Jordan Duggan (23)
2. Dave Heffernan (156)
3. Tietie Tuimauga (5)
4. Niall Murray (27)
5. Leva Fifita (7)
6. Cian Prendergast (21)
7. Jarrad Butler (87)
8. Paul Boyle (67)
Replacements
16. Shane Delahunt (114)
17. Greg McGrath (4)
18. Jack Aungier (23)
19. Eoghan Masterson (118)
20. Abraham Papali’i (18)
21. Caolin Blade (141)
22. Conor Fitzgerald (46)
23. Tom Farrell (70)
