Connacht matchday squad named for Edinburgh friendly

The Connacht matchday squad has been named for tomorrow’s pre-season friendly against Edinburgh at the Hive Stadium (k.o. 7.30 p.m).

The fixture is the squad’s final pre-season game of the year, as attention will then turn to the opening round of the BKT United Rugby Championship on October 21, when Connacht take on Ospreys at The Sportsground, Galway.

There are six changes from last week's game against Munster, with Darragh Murray, Paul Boyle, Colm Reilly, J.J. Hanrahan, Cathal Forde and Shayne Bolton coming into the starting XV.

Mayo native Dave Heffernan maintains his place in the team. The hooker will be flanked by Denis Buckley and Jack Aungier in the front row. Conor Oliver will captain the side.

The Connacht squad in full is: John Porch, Shayne Bolton, Tom Farrell, Cathal Forde, Andrew Smith, J.J. Hanrahan, Colm Reilly; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Jack Aungier, Darragh Murray, Joe Joyce, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Conor Oliver, Paul Boyle.

On the replacements' bench are: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Jordan Duggan, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, Oisín Dowling, Niall Murray, Michael McDonald, David Hawkshaw, Sean O'Brien, Byron Ralston and Liam McNamara.