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Rowland To Start At Full-Back For Connacht Eagles

Rowland To Start At Full-Back For Connacht Eagles

The Connacht Eagles team will play London Irish in round 5 of the British & Irish Cup at Dubarry Park in Athlone on Saturday (kick-off 2pm), and head coach Mossy Lawler has named his side. 

Senior player and Ireland Sevens international Josh Rowland returns from long-term injury to start at full-back for the Eagles, with Galwegians’ Matthew Byrne and Adam Leavy completing the back-three.

Ciaran Gaffney, who made two GUINNESS PRO12 appearances for Connacht last month, lines out in the centre. The half-back pairing is once again made up of Buccaneers duo Luke Carty and Conor McKeon.

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Daniel Qualter will captain the side and is one of three senior players in the pack along with prop Dominic Robertson-McCoy and blindside flanker Rory Moloney.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s round 5 fixture, Connacht Eagles head coach Mossy Lawler said: “While we’re still looking for our first win of the campaign, what we really want to see as coaches is an improved performance all round.

“Again, we have a real mix of experience going out tomorrow with limited training time. But we still see it as a great opportunity to test ourselves against a quality side. We’re looking forward to playing in Dubarry Park where a lot of the guys would be used to playing with their club side.”

CONNACHT EAGLES (v London Irish): Josh Rowland (Buccaneers); Matthew Byrne (Galwegians), Ciaran Gaffney (Galwegians), Kieran Joyce (Malone), Adam Leavy  (Galwegians); Luke Carty (Buccaneers), Conor McKeon (Buccaneers); Jack Dinneen (Galwegians), Shane O’Hehir (Sligo), Dominic Robertson-McCoy (Galwegians), Cillian Gallagher (Sligo), Daniel Qualter (Buccaneers) (capt), Rory Moloney (Buccaneers), Josh Pim (Galwegians), Marc Kelly (Galwegians).

Replacements: Conor Kyne (Galwegians), Saba Meunargia (Buccaneers), Cian Romaine (Buccaneers), Sean Masterson (Corinthians), Stephen Kerins (Corinthians), Morgan Codyre (Galwegians), Joe Murphy (Corinthians).