TWO-TIME BRITISH and Irish Lion Bundee Aki will captain Connacht in Sunday’s EPCR Challenge Cup pool opener against Ospreys at Brewery Field in Bridgend (k/o 15:15).
Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster has made nine changes from the side that beat the Sharks last weekend.
Partnering Aki in the centre is Sam Gilbert who makes his full Connacht debut, having come off the bench against the Sharks. The back three sees Shane Jennings make his first appearance of the season on the wing, with Finn Treacy on the opposite side and the in-form Seán Naughton continuing at full-back.
In the forwards, Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan and Finlay Bealham start together in the front row for the first time in the campaign, while Joe Joyce and David O’Connor line out together in the second row. Sean O’Brien comes in on the openside flank, while Josh Murphy and Sean Jansen are retained from last weekend.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s clash, Stuart Lancaster said:
“We enter the Challenge Cup with strong ambitions of winning it, and we also want to use these next two weeks to give some players an opportunity to impress. We’ve a good mix of youth and experience for Sunday, with the likes of Bundee as captain and plenty of other centurions especially in the front row.”
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Bundee Aki named captain as Connacht make 9 changes for Ospreys clash
TWO-TIME BRITISH and Irish Lion Bundee Aki will captain Connacht in Sunday’s EPCR Challenge Cup pool opener against Ospreys at Brewery Field in Bridgend (k/o 15:15).
Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster has made nine changes from the side that beat the Sharks last weekend.
Partnering Aki in the centre is Sam Gilbert who makes his full Connacht debut, having come off the bench against the Sharks. The back three sees Shane Jennings make his first appearance of the season on the wing, with Finn Treacy on the opposite side and the in-form Seán Naughton continuing at full-back.
In the forwards, Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan and Finlay Bealham start together in the front row for the first time in the campaign, while Joe Joyce and David O’Connor line out together in the second row. Sean O’Brien comes in on the openside flank, while Josh Murphy and Sean Jansen are retained from last weekend.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s clash, Stuart Lancaster said:
“We enter the Challenge Cup with strong ambitions of winning it, and we also want to use these next two weeks to give some players an opportunity to impress. We’ve a good mix of youth and experience for Sunday, with the likes of Bundee as captain and plenty of other centurions especially in the front row.”
Connacht squad:
15. Seán Naughton (5)
14. Shane Jennings (23)
13. Sam Gilbert (1)
12. Bundee Aki (153) (C)
11. Finn Treacy (9)
10. Jack Carty (222)
9. Ben Murphy (19)
1. Denis Buckley (267)
2. Dave Heffernan (223)
3. Finlay Bealham (220)
4. Joe Joyce (40)
5. David O’Connor (12)
6. Josh Murphy (42)
7. Seán O’Brien (16)
8. Sean Jansen (30)
16. Eoin de Buitléar (16)
17. Jordan Duggan (66)
18. Jack Aungier (91)
19. Darragh Murray (42)
20. Paul Boyle (118)
21. Colm Reilly (28)
22. Sean Walsh *
23. Harry West (1)
* denotes uncapped
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