Connacht Rugby head coach Pat Lam has made four personnel and two positional changes to his side ahead of tomorrow’s round 10 Guinness PRO12 clash with Benetton Treviso.
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Outhalf Marnitz Boshoff has been handed his first start in a Connacht jersey having come off the bench in the win over Cardiff Blues seven days ago. The South African is partnered by scrum half and last week’s try scorer and place kicker John Cooney.
Cian Kelleher shifts from fullback to right wing to allow Ireland international Tiernan O’Halloran wear number 15. With Matt Healy returning from injury to start on the left wing and Craig Ronaldson ruled out, Stacey Ili moves into midfield to partner Bundee Aki.
Having made his return from injury last week, Nepia Fox-Matamua is named to start at blindside flanker in an otherwise unchanged forward pack.
Dominic Robertson-McCoy, Sean O’Brien and Rory Parata are all additions to the match day squad with Academy graduate Parata in line to make his first appearance of the season.
Commenting on the upcoming game, Pat Lam said:
“After an important result last week, it’s great to be back at home for another crucial game in the Guinness PRO12. We know we are expected to win this game against Treviso tomorrow but we can only do that on the back of solid preparation. It’s been a good week together as a squad and we’re excited to get out there to fight for more vital points before attention turns to Champions Cup rugby.”
The Connacht Rugby team in full is as follows
(Connacht caps in brackets)
15 Tiernan O’Halloran (110)
14 Cian Kelleher (9)
13 Bundee Aki (50)
12 Stacey Ili (6)
11 Matt Healy (77)
10 Marnitz Boshoff (1)
9 John Cooney (27)
1 Denis Buckley (100)
2 Tom McCartney (48)
3 Conor Carey (7)
4 Quinn Roux (39)
5 James Cannon (3)
6 Nepia Fox-Matamua (10)
7 Jake Heenan (42)
8 John Muldoon (captain) (285)
Replacements:
16 Dave Heffernan (67)
17 JP Cooney (37)
18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy (3)
19 Sean O’Brien (23)
20 Eoin McKeon (95)
21 Caolin Blade (30)
22 Jack Carty (64)
23 Rory Parata (18)
Kick-off at the Sportsground is scheduled for 3pm and a limited number of Tickets are still available. The game is not being shown live on TV.