In a fixture where the home side won the last six matches, Saturday, 21st September sees Connacht face the daunting task of opening their 2024/25 BKT URC season away to Munster in Thomond Park at 5.30pm, a venue where the province have won just two matches since 1986.
The most recent fixture came in May this year when Munster routed Connacht on all fronts - the home side producing six different try scorers leading to a 47-12 win at the final whistle.
In the Sportsground last season, a New Year's Day special saw a weakened Munster side visit a full-strength Connacht, where despite losing their young star Cathal Forde to concussion in the early stages and losing Byron Ralston to a yellow at the end of the first half, Connacht prevailed in a sloppy game through the steady kicking of JJ Hanrahan. The result may have been 4 points but it was a bitter-sweet victory as Mack Hansen dislocated his shoulder in the 73rd minute, an injury that would keep him sidelined the rest of the season.
Mack Hansen has a chance to repeat the fixture in which he injured his shoulder when he starts against Munster for the season opener. Connacht fans will also be excited to see the competitive debuts of Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy and Piers O'Connor.
Cian Prendergast will debut as the province's captain and he sat down with Galway Bay FM's William Davies to talk about the upcoming season.
William Davies also managed to talk with head coach Pete Wilkins.
The full team lists are as follows:
Munster: Mike Haley, Thaakir Abrahams, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Shane Daly, Billy Burns, Craig Casey, Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron (CAPT), John Ryan, Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley, Ruadhán Quinn, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Josh Wycherley, Oli Jager, Alex Kendellen, Jack O’Donoghue, Ethan Coughlan, Tony Butler, Seán O’Brien
Connacht: Santiago Cordero, Mack Hansen, Piers O’Conor, Cathal Forde, Shayne Bolton, Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy, Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Jack Aungier, Joe Joyce, Darragh Murray, Josh Murphy, Conor Oliver, Cian Prendergast (CAPT)
Replacements: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Peter Dooley, Sam Illo, Oisín Dowling, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Caolin Blade, David Hawkshaw, Sean Jansen
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