Connacht starting team named for Bristol Bears friendly

23 August 2018

Connacht starting team named for Bristol Bears friendly
The Connacht management team have named the starting XV to face Bristol Bears in tomorrow's pre-season friendly at Ashton Gate (k/o 7.45pm).

 

There are five changes from the team that beat Wasps in Athlone last week, with Robin Copeland making his first appearance for the province at number 8. The other change in the back-row sees James Connolly come into the starting lineup where he'll play alongside Paul Boyle.

 

The front row is unchanged with Dave Heffernan captaining the team alongside Denis Buckley and Finlay Bealham, while in the second row Ultane Dillane starts with James Cannon.

 

There's a new half-back pairing with James Mitchell named at scrum-half with Jack Carty beside him, and the only other change sees Tiernan O'Halloran start at full-back while Cian Kelleher moves to the wing. Matt Healy, Kyle Godwin and Tom Farrell make up the rest of the backline.

 

 

Tomorrow's game is the squad's final pre-season encounter before the opening Guinness PRO14 tie at home to Glasgow on Saturday 1st September (k/o 3.00pm). The game is the first of four in The Sportsground during the month of September, and tickets for the Month Of Champions are now on sale at connachtrugby.ie/tickets.