CONNACHT CAPTAIN JOHN Muldoon will make his 300th appearance for the province in tomorrow’s Guinness Pro12 clash with Leinster at a sold-out Sportsground. [KO 19.35, TG4].
The 34-year-old is one of four changes from last weekend, with Jack Carty, Craig Ronaldson, Dave Heffernan and Finlay Bealham all recalled to the team.
Meanwhile Leinster have made 11 changes to their starting 15 from last weekend’s late victory over Ospreys.
Rhys Ruddock captains the side and reverts to number 8, while Dominic Ryan and Josh van der Flier start at blindside and openside flanker respectively.
Zane Kirchner and Rory O’Loughlin are the only two backs retained from last weekend’s win, while an all-new tight five has been selected for the game in Galway.
Connacht:
15 Tiernan O’Halloran
14 Niyi Adeolokun
13 Bundee Aki
12 Craig Ronaldson
11 Danie Poolman
10 Jack Carty
9 Kieran Marmion
1 Denis Buckley
2 Dave Heffernan
3 Finlay Bealham
4 Quinn Roux
5 Andrew Browne
6 Eoin McKeon
7 Jake Heenan
8 John Muldoon (captain)
Replacements:
16 Shane Delahunt
17 JP Cooney
18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy
19 Sean O’Brien
20 Naulia Dawai
21 Caolin Blade
22 Steve Crosbie
23 Eoin Griffin
Leinster:
15. Zane Kirchner
14. Adam Byrne
13. Rory O’Loughlin
12. Noel Reid
11. Dave Kearney
10. Ross Byrne
9. Luke McGrath
1. Cian Healy
2. James Tracy
3. Mike Ross
4. Ross Molony
5. Hayden Triggs
6. Dominic Ryan
7. Josh van der Flier
8. Rhys Ruddock (captain)
Replacements:
16. Sean Cronin
17. Peter Dooley
18. Michael Bent
19. Ian Nagle
20. Peadar Timmins
21. Nick McCarthy
22. Tom Daly
23. Barry Daly
