One of the most pleasing aspects of Connacht's early season form has been the emergence of former Ireland Under-21 international Daniel Riordan.
The Annaghdown native, who only turned 22 last month, proved himself to be a constant threat on the counter attack during last week's Magners League defeat to Leinster at the Sportsground.
He had a hand in Darren Yapp's first half try and booted a late penalty to tie up the game briefly at 16-16 before Leinster grabbed two injury-time tries. Riordan looks set for an extended run in the Connacht side if his graph continues to rise.
He gives the westerners some bite from the full-back position. The Galway crowds have certainly warmed to their local starlet, especially as he hardly put a foot wrong in his two league starts this term.
His pace and attacking verve, ability under the high ball and accurate line-kicking have marked him out as a star for the future - this evening's league clash against Ulster (The Sportsground, kick-off 6.30pm) will be only his ninth appearance in the competition.
And Connacht coach Michael Bradley is thankful that the province's Academy is slowly but surely beginning to turn out a high standard of homegrown players.
He said: "Daniel Riordan is one of the players who worked hard last year, was in good condition during the break and has played with confidence. Along with Ronan Loughney, who is injured, David McGowan and Michael Diffley, they are now pushing hard for inclusion. It's great to see."
Not so good for the former Ireland scrum half is the fact that Connacht are winless in their last three games and he knows his men will have to go some to hijack Ulster's plans for their own return to winning ways - Mark McCall's outfit lost to Munster six days ago in Cork.
"Ulster are the defending champions and are one of the top sides in the competition," Bradley added.
"They possess a stronger pack than Leinster so we can expect more difficulty up front, while Paddy Wallace and David Humphreys have formed a good partnership in the backs, posing an attacking threat. I expect a tougher game than last week, in a physical sense."
