AFTER THE HIGH of Connacht delivering a promising win in his first game in charge against Benetton, Stuart Lancaster had to deal with the frustration of having last weekend’s home clash with Scarlets postponed at a very late stage.

A chance for Connacht to build on an encouraging start to the season was scuppered when Storm Amy and other events on board prevented Scarlets from flying to Ireland in time to make their URC clash in Galway.

That wait for Lancaster’s second game has only added to the curiosity around the western province as they visit Cardiff this evening [KO 7.45pm, TG4/Premier Sports/URC TV].

Part of the frustration last week was just how late the game was canned. Connacht had completed a week of training focused specifically on Scarlets before finding out. It’s not as if they were able to throw in an extra pre-season-esque week.

There’s also the annoyance of selection plans for this Cardiff game almost certainly having been disrupted. It would be extremely harsh for Lancaster to drop lots of players selected for the Scarlets game who didn’t get the opportunity to play.

And so it is that almost exactly the same 23 was named for today’s game, Paul Boyle the only one to drop out as Sean O’Brien comes into the starting back row and Shamus Hurley-Langton joins the bench.

It could have been that Connacht would have welcomed back one of their three Lions – Mack Hansen, Finlay Bealham, and Bundee Aki – for this Cardiff clash had it not been for the postponement last weekend. Instead, they’ll have to wait for the visit of the Bulls to Galway next weekend.

Missing out on the possibility of building a winning rhythm is another point of frustration, but none of that will be relevant when Italian referee Gianluca Gnecchi blows his whistle at 7.45pm this evening at Cardiff Arms Park.

Tom Bowen gathers the ball for his second try at Thomond Park. Nick Elliott / INPHO Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO

Instead, it will be about Lancaster’s Connacht side imposing their attacking qualities, which showed up promisingly in Round 1, on the Cardiff defence. But also how the Connacht defence, which started well, deals with the Welsh side’s array of threats. 

Cardiff, who remain without a head coach following Matt Sherratt’s departure to join the Wales staff, showed some of their weapons away to Munster last weekend. Skipper Liam Belcher and his forward pack won plenty of collisions at Thomond Park, helping out-half Callum Sheedy to be at his creative best, while 19-year-old wing Tom Bowen demonstrated why there are such high hopes for him as he scored a hat-trick, the second of which was a stunning finish.

Cardiff have made four changes for the Connacht game, with Wales international tighthead Keiron Assiratti, blindside flanker Ben Donnell, and first-choice fullback Cam Winnett returning to the side, while exciting 19-year-old inside centre Steffan Emanuel gets his first URC start.

Cardiff enjoyed a good bonus-point win at home against the Lions before causing Munster a few concerns in Round 2 and earning two losing bonus points, so it has been a good start to the campaign for them.

Connacht played Cardiff three times last season, including a Challenge Cup clash, and won all of those games, so that’s a trend they’ll be keen to continue on the road tonight.

It should be a tight one but another victory for Connacht would certainly add to the sense of excitement around the province since Lancaster’s arrival.

CARDIFF: Cam Winnett; Jacob Beetham, Harri Millard, Steffan Emanuel, Tom Bowen; Callum Sheedy, Johan Mulder; Danny Southworth, Liam Belcher (captain), Keiron Assiratti; Josh McNally, Teddy Williams; Ben Donnell, Dan Thomas, Alun Lawrence. 

Replacements: Daf Hughes, Rhys Barratt, Javan Sebastian, George Nott, Taine Basham, Aled Davies, Ioan Lloyd, Osian Darwin-Lewis.

CONNACHT: Sean Naughton; Chay Mullins, David Hawkshaw, Cathal Forde, Shayne Bolton; Jack Carty, Ben Murphy; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Jack Aungier; Darragh Murray, Joe Joyce; Cian Prendergast (captain), Sean O’Brien, Sean Jansen.

Replacements: Eoin de Buitléar, Jordan Duggan, Sam Illo, David O’Connor, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Matthew Devine, Hugh Gavin, Finn Treacy. 

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi [FIR].