MACK HANSEN’S RETURN is one of six Connacht changes for tomorrow’s United Rugby Championship [URC] clash against Benetton at The Sportsground [KO 3.15pm, live on RTÉ 1 and Premier Sport 1].
The Ireland winger has recovered from the thigh injury he sustained on international duty against his native Australia last month to be included in Andy Friend’s much-changed XV.
Niall Murray, Oisín Dowling, Paul Boyle, Kieran Marmion and Diarmuid Kilgallen all come back into the squad after last week’s derby defeat to Munster, the latter making his first appearance of the season.
The experienced front row of Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan and Finlay Bealham is unchanged, while Murray and Dowling are the locks selected. Boyle starts at eight, with Cian Prendergast and Conor Oliver both retained.
Captain Jack Carty and Marmion form the out-half/scrum-half partnership, while the centre pairing of Bundee Aki and Tom Farrell is unchanged. Hansen returns on left wing, with John Porch at full-back and Kilgallen on the right.
🟢𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙈 𝘼𝙉𝙉𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘾𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙉𝙏 🟢
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) December 2, 2022
6️⃣ changes from last week in our return to home turf 🏟️#CONvBEN | #BKTURC
Full story: https://t.co/353A5T0BgS
Tickets: https://t.co/a0LVsO5lJh pic.twitter.com/csCFQfL7R7
“Last weekend was another frustrating performance for various reasons, and whilst our intent and attitude were excellent, the bottom line was that we didn’t deliver our best performance,” Friend said while naming his team.
“That said, I was pleased with the way the players dug out a bonus point which could be crucial at the end of the season.
“Tomorrow we’re back at the Sportsground against a very confident Benetton team. If we wish to be the victors at the end of 80 minutes, we must bring a level of energy and physicality that we know that we’re capable of for the full game. We are a team that is creating plenty of opportunities, we just need to be better at capitalising on those.”
Benetton, meanwhile, have also shown their hand. The Italian side’s match day 23 is also listed below.
Connacht (v Benetton)
Caps in brackets
- 15. John Porch (67)
- 14. Diarmuid Kilgallen (8)
- 13. Tom Farrell (84)
- 12. Bundee Aki (120)
- 11. Mack Hansen (19)
- 10. Jack Carty (185) — captain
- 9. Kieran Marmion (216)
- 1. Denis Buckley (216)
- 2. Dave Heffernan (172)
- 3. Finlay Bealham (180)
- 4. Oisín Dowling (32)
- 5. Niall Murray (41)
- 6. Cian Prendergast (34)
- 7. Conor Oliver (48)
- 8. Paul Boyle (80)
Replacements:
- 16. Dylan Tierney-Martin (10)
- 17. Peter Dooley (6)
- 18. Jack Aungier (39)
- 19. Gavin Thornbury (69)
- 20. Jarrad Butler (101)
- 21. Caolin Blade (155)
- 22. Tom Daly (65)
- 23. Tiernan O’Halloran (209)
Benetton (v Connacht)
🦁 I 23 #Leoni scelti per affrontare @connachtrugby
— Benetton Rugby 🦁 (@BenettonRugby) December 2, 2022
🏆 9º Round @URCOfficial
📅 03.12.2022
⌚️ 16:15 🇮🇹
🏟️ Sportsground di Galway
📱 #CONvBEN
🖥 @discoveryplusIT#wearelions #biancoverdi pic.twitter.com/2azoGKme63
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