4 Connacht players make the Wolfhounds starting selection to take on England Saxons this Saturday

Gavin Duffy, John Muldoon, Mike McCarthy, Brett Wilkinson all made the starting XV while versatile prop Ronan Loughney  will look to impact from the bench. The call-ups are just reward for recent fine form and though Connacht had to wait until their final pool game in the Heineken Cup to earn their first victory there have been some exceptional individual performances along the way.

From www.irishrugby.ie

Ulster Back row Chris Henry will lead the O2 Ireland Wolfhounds in their game against the England Saxons this Saturday in Exeter. The side shows a balance between youth and experience, with nine of the match day 22 uncapped at senior level.

Gavin Duffy is the man with that experience in the back three, with David Kearney and Simon Zebo start on the wings. Nevin Spence and Eoin O'Malley will form a new centre partnership at this level outside a half back partnership of Ian Keatley and Isaac Boss.

In the forwards, Damien Varley starts at hooker and beside him experienced Connacht loose head prop Brett Wilkinson packs down with Stephen Archer, who has recently broken into the Munster match squad and been part of his provinces Heineken Cup run.

Dan Tuohy wins his third cap at this level and partners Mike McCarthy in the second row. John Muldoon the most experienced player in the squad at this level with 10 Wolfhounds caps to his credit forms a back row with Captain Chris Henry at open side and Rhys Ruddock starting at No.8 to win his first cap for the Wolfhounds.

O2 Ireland Wolfhounds Coach Eric Elwood is looking forward to the game and the challenge of playing a Saxons team that is packed full of premiership and European experience. "The games against the Saxons are always highly competitive affairs as you would expect and results have tended to go with the home side, but I think we have a good mix in our side and the key message is that we have to match them on all fronts, especially in the physical stakes, to come away with a win.

"Eoin (O'Malley) and Nevin have done well over the last couple of days as a pairing and I am looking forward to see how both Simon (Zebo) and David Kearney travel on the wings after a good couple of weeks for them with their provinces.

"We have a touch more experience in our pack, which I think will be important for this game and good spine through it with Dan (Tuohy) and Mike (McCarthy) giving us some really good ability across the set piece and in the carrying stakes to compliment a back row that I think can make a good impression.

"I would expect a really good atmosphere for the game and I know the players are looking forward to it."

The match can be seen live on Sky Sports.

O2 Ireland Wolfhounds Team & Replacements ( v England Saxons,Sandy Park, Exeter, Saturday, 28th January 2012, K.O. 5.00pm):

15 - Gavin Duffy (Galwegians/Connacht)
14 - David Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster) *
13 - Eoin O'Malley (Old Belvedere/Leinster) *
12 - Nevin Spence (Ballynahinch/Ulster) *
11 - Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster)*
10 - Ian Keatley (Young Munster/Munster)
9 - Isaac Boss (Terenure College/Leinster)
1 - Brett Wilkinson (Galwegians/Connacht)*
2 - Damien Varley (Garryowen/Munster)
3 - Stephen Archer (Cork Constitution/Munster) *
4 - Dan Tuohy (Ballymena/Ulster)
5 - Mike McCarthy (Buccaneers/Connacht)
6 - John Muldoon (Galwegians/Connacht)
7 - Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster) Captain
8 - Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary's College/Leinster)

Replacements:
16 - Mike Sherry (Garryowen/Munster)*
17 - Ronan Loughney (Galwegians/Connacht)*
18 - Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)
19 - Kevin McLaughlin (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
20 - Tomas O'Leary (Dolphin/Munster)
21 - Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster)*
22 - Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster)

*Denotes Uncapped at full international level

Pics (c) www.inpho.ie

Connacht players were among those who took the plaudits as both ESPN and Planet Rugby named their Heineken Cup teams of round 6.

After landing 3 penalty goals and securing all of Connacht’s 9 points in an assured kicking display outhalf Niall O’Connor was a shoe-in for the 10 jersey according to ESPN and deserved an honourable mention in Planet Rugby’s XV.

Connacht’s ever-secure lineout earned Mike McCarthy the number 4 jersey for the UK based ESPN SCRUM website and Man of the Match John Muldoon, the first Connacht player to earn the title in a Heineken Cup match, was awarded the blindside flanker shirt for his ferocious tackling on one of the world’s most popular rugby websites, Planet Rugby.

For the full rundown of the teams please click here:

www.ESPN.co.uk

www.planetrugby.co.uk

(above right) John Muldoon powers over Yann David from Toulouse, (above left) Niall O'Connor sends another shot over the posts and (above) Mike McCarthy towers above Harlequins' Nick Easter (C) www.inpho.ie

Connacht's defence stands firm

A trademark of Connacht's performances to date has been their resolute defence. Last season Connacht contracted the services of former Great Britain Rugby League legend Mike Forshaw to shore up the defensive systems at the club and the former Wigan Warriors Strength & Conditioning Coach has made a big impact since his arrival.

A testament to Mike's hard work was the tackle count from last Friday night's Heineken Cup match against Harlequins. The starting pack made a staggering 110 tackles over the course of the match and the team had over 235 defensive involvements over the 80 minutes, denying Harlequins both space, territory and clean possession.

The defensive systems clearly took their toll on the visiting side with Connacht turning over possession in every area of the pitch. Man of the match John Muldoon epitomised Connacht's tenacity at the breakdown and the 29 year old Portumna-born backrower displayed a dogged determination and ruthlessness in the contact zone that helped secure Connacht's first win in their maiden Heineken Cup.

Following the pool stages of the Heineken Cup there were 10 teams that conceded more points than Connacht. This list included some of Europe's most prestigious clubs, names such as London Irish, Northampton Saints, the Ospreys and Castres Olympique were among the sides, many of which regularly feature in the competition, to ship more points than the Western Province. Indeed Toulouse are the only team to earn a bonus point against Connacht this season and had to work extremely hard to achieve that!

Though Connacht have yet to turn performances into results in the RaboDirect PRO12 leaking trys has not been the major issue and the club lie level with leaders Leinster on number of trys conceded (19) and following last weekend's heroic performance the team know they can use their impressive defensive capabilities to turn close matches into victories.

Pictured (above right) Mike Browne is stopped by Kyle Tonetti and Henry Fa'afili, (above left) John Muldoon and Niall O'Connor halt Tomas Vallejos and (below) Nick Easter gains little territory after being smashed by John Muldoon and Niall O'Connor (C) www.inpho.ie