MACK HANSEN AND Finlay Bealham will be back from their Triple Crown success for Connacht’s trip to Treviso on Saturday but Bundee Aki will not return until the Champions Cup clashes against Leinster over the following two weekends.
Connacht, aside from the return of those two internationals, could be set for a further boost with lock Gavin Thornbury poised to feature against Benetton Rugby for the first time since picking up a troublesome shoulder injury last May.
Coach Andy Friend said they have to win all four remaining games in the URC to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout stages and a place in the Champions Cup next season — they will travel to South Africa to play the Lions and the Sharks and conclude at home to Zebre — but experienced loosehead Denis Buckley will miss this trip to Italy with a calf injury.
Tom Daly, sent off in the third minute against Leinster before they fell to a 45-8 loss, is due to face a disciplinary hearing while Connacht hope that John Porch will be cleared to play after going off with a HIA.
Winger Alex Wootton didn’t train on Tuesday but prop Tietie Tuimaugua did as they try to bounce back from the Leinster loss and prevent a third defeat in a row.
“This will be a tough fixture for us but in terms of preparation for EPCR it’s exactly what we are after but we will need to be at our best,” said Friend.
This week on the Front Row – The42’s new rugby podcast in partnership with Guinness – panellist Eimear Considine makes a welcome return… and she’s brought her Ireland roommate, Hannah O’Connor, along too. They chat about broken noses, tanning routines, initiation songs and balancing the Women’s Six Nations with teaching, plus how one fan named her child after Ireland winger Beibhinn Parsons! Click here to subscribe or listen below:
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