Mayo man to captain Connacht for vital clash with Dragons
Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins has named his side for the BKT United Rugby Championship trip to Dragons this weekend.
Mayo native Dave Heffernan will captain the team from the front row, where he will be joined by Denis Buckley and Finlay Bealham.
Buckley is one of four changes from the side that picked up a bonus point win at home to Zebre last week, with Gavin Thornbury, Cian Prendergast and Tiernan O’Halloran joining him in coming into the starting XV this weekend.
Thornbury will partner Joe Joyce in the second row, while Prendergast comes in at the number eight position, meaning flankers Shamus Hurley-Langton and Conor Oliver are retained.
Also keeping his place is scrum-half Matthew Devine, while J.J. Hanrahan starts at out-half against his old club.
Bundee Aki and Tom Farrell are paired together at centre, while a reshuffled back three sees O’Halloran come in at full-back and Shane Jennings move to the right wing and John Porch shifting sides to the left.
There’s just the one change to the 6-2 bench named last week, with Dylan Tierney-Martin coming in for his potential first game back since a neck injury three months ago.
Commenting ahead of the game, head coach Pete Wilkins said: “We've had a great training week so everyone's fully prepared and ready to go. Rodney Parade is always a tough place for visiting teams and we're fully aware of the importance of us getting a win in the context of the overall season.
“With Denis, Gavin, Cian and Tiernan coming in, they bring added experience and leadership which is needed in these types of games. Combined with a consistent selection across the rest of the 23, I'm confident we have a squad capable of coming home with the win.”
The game against the Dragons will take place tomorrow (Saturday) in Rodney Parade, Newport, kicking off at 8 p.m.
The Connacht team in full is as follows: Tiernan O’Halloran, Shane Jennings, Tom Farrell, Bundee Aki, John Porch, J.J. Hanrahan, Matthew Devine; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Joe Joyce, Gavin Thornbury, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Conor Oliver, Cian Prendergast.
The replacements' bench features the following players: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Peter Dooley, Sam Illo, Oisín Dowling, Jarrad Butler, Caolin Blade, Cathal Forde, Paul Boyle.
CONTRACTS
Off the field, Shane Jennings, Oisín Dowling and Andrew Smith have all renewed their contracts with Connacht Rugby.
Jennings graduated from the Connacht Academy in 2022 and has played 11 times since. He’s currently enjoying his longest stint in the match day 23, starting the last three games on the back of some impressive performances in the back three.
The 23-year-old came through the Connacht pathway system at Garbally College and Ballinasloe RFC, and has also represented Buccaneers RFC.
Dowling is in his fourth season at Connacht since joining from Leinster in 2020. The 26-year-old has earned 56 caps in that time. Primarily a lock, he can also play at blindside flanker. He has signed a two-year extension, bringing his stint at the club until 2026 at the earliest.
Smith, meanwhile, will continue his career at Connacht for another season. The back three player joined from the Ireland Sevens programme last year and has made 13 appearances in the campaign so far, starting 12 of them.
The 23-year-old has started in all three positions in the back three, and will be hoping to add to his appearance tally for the next 12 months.