Connacht have made eight changes from last week’s win over Newcastle Falcons for their second game in the European Challenge Cup away to Brive tomorrow (Friday, 16th December).
Sam Illo and Darragh Murray make their first starts and are joined by Shane Delahunt, Gavin Thornbury, Oisin Dowling, Kieran Marmion, Bundee Aki and Conor Fitzgerald.
The team in full:
Peter Dooley, Shane Delahunt and Sam Illo are the front row;
Darragh Murray and Gavin Thornbury are behind them;
While the back row features Oisin Dowling, Sheamus Hurley-Langton and Paul Boyle.
Conor Fitzgerald is full back;
The three-quarter line is Adam Byrne, Bundee Aki, Tom Daly and Diarmuid Kilgallen;
While scrum-half Kieran Marmion partners out half David Hawkshaw.
Kick-off at the Stade Amedee-Domench in France tomorrow is 8pm Irish time and we'll have LIVE coverage here on Galway Bay FM.
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Press Release:
The Connacht management team have selected their squad for tomorrow’s EPCR Challenge Cup fixture against CA Brive at the Stade Amedee-Domenech (k/o 8pm Irish time).
There are eight changes to the side that beat Newcastle Falcons last Saturday at The Sportsground. Two of those changes will see first Connacht starts for Sam Illo and Darragh Murray.
Peter Dooley is the only player from the front five that started last weekend that keep his place. He’s joined by Shane Delahunt and Sam Illo in the front row. Gavin Thornbury pairs up alongside Darragh Murray in the second row. The back row sees Shamus Hurley-Langton and Paul Boyle keep their place at 7 and 8 while Oisin Dowling will wear the number 6.
In the backs Kieran Marmion starts at scrum half, Bundee Aki returns to centre and Conor Fitzgerald is named at full back.
Commenting on the team selection, Director of Rugby Andy Friend says:
“We’ve won 5 of our last 7 and tomorrow we hope to make it 6 from 8, so there’s a real sense of momentum building within the group. As is always the case, we can still tidy up certain areas of our game, but overall we’re in a good place heading into Christmas.
"A French team at their home ground is a tough challenge no matter who we face, and Brive will be exactly that tomorrow night. I’m confident we have a group of 23 men who will meet that challenge head on in what will be a physical encounter. There’ll be a few familiar faces in the opposition that we’ll look forward to catching up with after the game.”
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CONNACHT RUGBY MATCHDAY 23 VS CA BRIVE
Friday 16th December, 20:00 @ Stade Amedee-Domenech
Number/Name/Caps
15. Conor Fitzgerald (59)
14. Adam Byrne (2)
13. Bundee Aki (121)
12. Tom Daly (67)
11. Diarmuid Kilgallen (10)
10. David Hawkshaw (8)
9. Kieran Marmion (217)
1. Peter Dooley (8)
2. Shane Delahunt (119)
3. Sam Illo (5)
4. Darragh Murray (1)
5. Gavin Thornbury(70)
6. Oisin Dowling (33)
7. Shamus Hurley-Langton (7)
8. Paul Boyle (82) (C)
Replacements
16. Dave Heffernan (173)
17. Jordan Duggan (30)
18. Dominic Robertson-McCoy (72)
19. Niall Murray (43)
20. Ciaran Booth (2)
21. Colm Reilly (14)
22. Byron Ralston (7)
23. Oran McNulty (11)
