BUNDEE AKI AND Finlay Bealham have both been named to start in Connacht’s Challenge Cup Round of 16 meeting with Pau on Sunday [5.30pm, Premier Sports 1].
The Six Nations winners return as two of seven changes to the side which suffered a cruel final-play defeat against Benetton in Treviso last weekend.
Caolin Blade, who missed that game through injury, is passed fit to return at scrum-half while Shane Jennings is named on the left wing in his first start for the province.
Up front, Denis Buckley returns to the front row, as does Bealham, while Jarrad Butler starts at number eight.
Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins said: “It’s a competition that we want to go far in, and that’s reflected in the squad selected for Sunday.
“There’s a huge amount of experience there and having Bundee and Finlay back is a big boost too.
“I’m confident from what I’ve seen in training and with the squad we’ve named that they’ll deliver a big performance.”
Meanwhile, the province have announced that Jordan Duggan has renewed his contract at Dexcom Stadium until 2026.
The 26-year-old loosehead prop made his Connacht debut in August 2020 against Ulster at the Aviva Stadium and has since made 45 appearances.
Connacht
- 15. Tiernan O’Halloran
- 14. Shayne Bolton
- 13. David Hawkshaw
- 12. Bundee Aki
- 11. Shane Jennings
- 10. Jack Carty (capt)
- 9. Caolin Blade
- 1. Denis Buckley
- 2. Dave Heffernan
- 3. Finlay Bealham
- 4. Joe Joyce
- 5. Niall Murray
- 6. Cian Prendergast
- 7. Shamus Hurley-Langton
- 8. Jarrad Butler
Replacements:
- 16. Eoin de Buitléar
- 17. Jordan Duggan
- 18. Sam Illo
- 19. Darragh Murray
- 20. Conor Oliver
- 21. Matthew Devine
- 22. JJ Hanrahan
- 23. Tom Farrell
Section Paloise
- 15. Jack Maddocks
- 14. Thomas Carol
- 13. Eliot Roudil
- 12. Jale Vatubua
- 11. Aminiasi Tuimaba
- 10. Joe Simmonds
- 9. Dan Robson
- 1. Siegfried Fisi’ihoi
- 2. Youri Delhommel
- 3. Siate Tokolahi
- 4. Guillaume Ducat
- 5. Lekima Tagitagivalu
- 6. Martin Puech (capt)
- 7. Sacha Zegueur
- 8. Thibaut Hamonou
Replacements:
- 16. Lucas Rey
- 17. Hugo Parrou
- 18. Guram Papidze
- 19. Steve Cummins
- 20. Fabrice Metz
- 21. Reece Hewat
- 22. Thibault Daubagna
- 23. Axel Desperes
– Updated 12.45pm to include Section Paloise matchday 23.
– Updated 3.54pm to include contract news
