Connacht have made three changes for tomorrow’s trip to the high-flying Ospreys.
John Cooney comes in for Kieran Marmion at scrum-half while Sean O’Brien and Naulia Dawai start in the back-row.
Tom McCartney will skipper the side in the place of injured captain John Muldoon who had, up to now, started every game this season but was ruled out this week with a hamstring injury.
From the bench, Galway man Eoin McKeon is in line to make his 100th Connacht appearance if he is called upon in Wales tomorrow afternoon.
“There is real excitement in the camp as we face another great challenge away to Ospreys who are flying high in the PRO12 championship,” head coach Pat Lam said. “They have one of the best all-round games as well as the most successful record at home this season, highlighted by their 29 points earned out of a possible 30.
“Our focus remains on improving our game and if we can nail our execution and detail, it will give us a great chance of challenging for the points on offer.”
Three changes for the @PRO12rugby Round 13 clash with @ospreys at the Liberty Stadium tomorrow afternoon. KO 13:30 - live on Sky Sports 1. pic.twitter.com/6DYlR6QWX9
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) January 6, 2017
Ospreys v Connacht at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday January 7, kick-off 1:30pm.
Connacht team: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Rory Parata, 12 Peter Robb, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 John Cooney; 1 Denis Buckley, 2 Tom McCartney – capt., 3 Finlay Bealham, 4 Quinn Roux, 5 James Cannon, 6 Sean O’Brien, 7 Jake Heenan, 8 Naulia Dawai.
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 P Cooney, 18 John Andress, 19 Lewis Stevenson, 20 Eoin McKeon, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Danie Poolman, 23 Ciaran Gaffney.
