PETE WILKINS HAS made four changes to the Connacht side that dominated Bristol in the Champions Cup almost a month ago ahead of Saturday’s trip to Cardiff (5:15pm, RTÉ 2/Premier Sports 1).

Dave Heffernan, Jack Aungier, Conor Oliver and the fit-again Cathal Forde all come into an otherwise settled starting 15, with Connacht currently three points ahead of Cardiff in the URC table and just one spot outside the play-off berths.

Caolin Blade captains the western province from scrum-half with JJ Hanrahan alongside him at half-back.

Cian Prendergast, meanwhile, moves to number eight, with Shamus Hurley-Langton at blindside and Oliver coming in at openside.

“The break was helpful for a number of reasons – both in terms of giving the group some down-time after 13 straight weeks, and then allowing us the time to put in some good training sessions and work on the areas we’d like to improve on,” said Connacht boss Wilkins.

“Coupled with the return of a few players back from injury, everyone’s really positive about the next block of games starting tomorrow.

“We’ve had some close battles with Cardiff down the years and historically, they’re one of the teams we’re competing with for a play-off spot, so we fully appreciate the importance of the game.

“If we play to our strengths and take the opportunities when they come, it’ll give us a great chance to come home with the win.”

Connacht (v Cardiff)

15. Tiernan O’Halloran
14. Shayne Bolton
13. David Hawkshaw
12. Cathal Forde
11. Andrew Smith
10. JJ Hanrahan
9. Caolin Blade (Captain)

1. Denis Buckley
2. Dave Heffernan
3. Jack Aungier
4. Niall Murray
5. Joe Joyce
6. Shamus Hurley-Langton
7. Conor Oliver
8. Cian Prendergast

Replacements:

16. Tadgh McElroy
17. Peter Dooley
18. Sam Illo
19. Oisín Dowling
20. Jarrad Butler
21. Michael McDonald
22. Jack Carty
23. Tom Farrell