9 years ago 
While the senior squad travel to France on Heineken Cup duty, the Connacht Eagles welcome Bedford Blues to the Sportsground for round three of the British & Irish Cup.
Pool 3 is shaping up to be the tightest of pools with just two points separating all four sides a third of the way through the fixtures.
Bedford’s narrow win over Llanelli in round 2 – their first victory of the season – puts them level on points with the Scarlets.
The improving Blues will go into the game in buoyant mood after becoming the first side to beat London Welsh in the Championship this season. But the Eagles will take confidence from their 27 – 25 win over Rotherham Titans in the last round.
Head Coach Nigel Carolan has made a number of changes following his side’s last two outings against Rotherham Titans (27 – 25) and Ulster Ravens (10 – 35). His matchday squad for Saturday is made up of a mixture of Senior and Academy players.
Connacht Eagles v Bedford Blues: Kick-off is at the Sportsground is at 2:30pm on Saturday, December 7th
Free entry for all to the Sportsground.
Connacht Eagles’ lineup v Bedford Blues
15 Shane Layden
14 David Panter
13 Conor Finn
12 Brian Murphy
11 Steve Macauley
10 Jack Carty (captain)
9 Paul O’Donohoe
1 Finlay Bealham
2 James Rael
3 JP Cooney
4 Dave Nolan
5 Danny Qualter
6 Andrew Browne
7 James Connolly
8 Eoghan Masterson
Replacements (from):
16 Dave Heffernan
17 Peter Reilly
18 Ultane Dillane
19 Conor Kindregan
20 Sean O’Brien
21 Caolin Blade
22 Tadhg Leader
British & Irish Cup Fixtures
Round 1
Llanelli RFC 76 v 14 Connacht Eagles Sat 12th Oct 2012 KO 2pm
Parc y Scarlets
Round 2
Connacht Eagles 27 v 25 Rotherham Titans Sat 19th Oct 2012 KO 2.30pm
The Sportsground
Round 3
Connacht Eagles v Bedford Blues Sat 7th Dec 2012 KO 2.30pm
The Sportsground
Round 4
Bedford Blues v Connacht Eagles Sat 14th Dec 2012 KO 2pm
Goldington Road
Round 5
Rotherham Titans v Connacht Eagles Sat 11th Jan 2013 KO 2pm
Clifton Lane
Round 6
Connacht Eagles v Llanellii Sat 18th Jan 2013 KO 2pm
The Sportsground
