For Saturday’s visit of Jersey to the Sportsground (kick-off 2.30pm), Connacht Eagles head coach Nigel Carolan has made four changes to the side that lost to Doncaster Knights in the previous round of the British & Irish Cup.
New Zealand-born centre Api Pewhairangi has returned from the knee injury he picked up in pre-season to take his place in the back-line. Academy scrum half Conor Lowndes has also returned from injury to start in a half-back pairing with Conor McKeon who will captain the Eagles.
Back rowers Marc Kelly and Stephen McVeigh are both promoted to the province’s starting pack which is made up entirely of Academy and sub-Academy players.
Commenting on the round 3 fixture with Jersey, Eagles boss Nigel Carolan said: “We’re excited to be able to give some more of our Academy and sub-Academy players a chance this weekend. The senior team have been hard hit by injuries and it’s great to see the lads that are stepping up are making an impact.
“This team performed well against Doncaster last time out, but we’ll be hoping we can convert more of the chances we create tomorrow at the Sportsground.”
All Connacht Rugby Season Ticket holders have free entry to the Jersey game. Under-12s are also free while it is just €;5 for all other tickets.
CONNACHT EAGLES (v Jersey): Ciaran Gaffney; Adam Leavy, Cormac Brennan, Api Pewhairangi, Ed O’Keeffe; Conor McKeon (capt), Conor Lowndes; Jacob Walshe, Jack Dinneen, Saba Meunargia, Peter Claffey, Cillian Gallagher, Marc Kelly, Rory Moloney, Stephen McVeigh.
Replacements: Juan Anaya Lazaro, Conor Kenny, Cian Romaine, Matthew Cosgrove, Stephen Kerins, Aidan Moynihan, Jack Keegan.
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