Connacht’s record try scorer Matt Healy has recovered from injury to take his place on the wing against the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth on Sunday (1pm Irish time). The team shows a total of 5 changes from the side that beat the Dragons 33-12 at the beginning of the month. In the front row, Denis Buckley replaces Shane Delahunt, while the new half back pairing is Jack Carty and Caolin Blade. On the wings, Matt Healy and Cian Kelleher come in for Colm De Buitlear and Darragh Leader.
Connacht have been based in Cape Town for the past week ahead of the game and are on a tour that will include a visit to Bloemfontein to take on the Cheetahs next weekend. With Bundee Aki unavailable through his involvement in the November internationals, Kyle Godwin and Tom Farrell continue in midfield while Captain Jarrad Butler starts again at number 8.
CONNACHT TEAM & REPLACEMENTS v SOUTHERN KINGS
15. Tiernan O’Halloran, 14. Cian Kelleher, 13. Kyle Godwin, 12. Tom Farrell, 11. Matt Healy, 10. Jack Carty, 9. Caolin Blade, 1. Denis Buckley, 2. Shane Delahunt, 3. Conor Carey, 4. Ultan Dillane, 5. James Cannon, 6. Sean O’Brien, 7. Colby Fainga’a, 8. Jarrad Butler (Capt).
Replacements (16-23): Tom McCartney, Peter McCabe, Dominic Robertson McCoy, Gavin Thornbury, Paul Boyle, James Mitchell, David Horwitz, Darragh Leader.
