Bolstered by three returning Ireland internationals, Connacht know that another win is vital against the Dragons this evening as they look to draw closer to the GUINNESS PRO12’s top six.
GUINNESS PRO12: Saturday, February 18
CONNACHT (8th) v NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS (10th), the Sportsground, 7.35pm (live TG4/S4C/Galway Bay FM)
Team News: Connacht head coach Pat Lam has named his team to face the Newport Gwent Dragons in round 15 of the GUINNESS PRO12 at the Sportsground tonight.
There are five personnel changes to the side that beat Cardiff Blues in Wales six days ago. Ireland internationals Kieran Marmion, Finlay Bealham and Ultan Dillane all come in to start this week, while centre Tom Farrell has been handed his full debut.
The 23-year-old Farrell, who joined the province from Bedford Blues last month and has made two appearances from the bench, will partner fellow former Lansdowne player Craig Ronaldson in midfield.
Hooker Dave Heffernan, who continues his impressive run of featuring in every Connacht game so far this season, earns his seventh start in the number 2 jersey.
From the bench, the 23-year-old Steve Crosbie, who also joined the province last month, is in line to make his Connacht debut.
Commenting on this weekend’s clash with the Dragons, Lam said: “We’re all really excited to be back playing at home for the first time in five weeks. By all accounts it will be a full house here again (tomorrow) and that always drives us on.
“We’re very aware of where we are in this competition and what we need to do. The Dragons will take confidence from their victory over us in round 8 so it’s really important that we are right on the money with our mental preparation and execution of the game-plan.”
The province’s currently injured/unavailable players are Conor Carey, Ivan Soroka, Conan O’Donnell, Andrew Browne, Marnitz Boshoff, Bundee Aki, Stacey Ili, Eoin Griffin, Cormac Brennan, Cian Kelleher, Darragh Leader and Josh Rowland.
Meanwhile, Dragons head coach Kingsley Jones has made three changes to the side that were defeated 45-17 by Munster last weekend in Cork. This includes full-back Tom Prydie, who returns to the back three and is joined by wingers Adam Hughes and Pat Howard.
There are no changes to the centre partnership as Tyler Morgan teams up with Adam Warren again this week, with the half-backs Dorian Jones and Tavis Knoyle also retained.
In the front row, 22-year-old hooker Elliot Dee returns to the starting XV and is joined by props Sam Hobbs and Brok Harris. The second row also includes one change as versatile forward Nick Crosswell combines with lock Rynard Landman. The same back row is kept in place with flankers Ollie Griffiths and Nic Cudd selected alongside skipper Lewis Evans.
Cory Hill has been released from the Wales squad and is listed among the replacements. He will be joined on the bench by Darran Harris, Thomas Davies, Lloyd Fairbrother, Harrison Keddie, Sarel Pretorius, Angus O’Brien and Sam Beard.
CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran; Niyi Adeolokun, Tom Farrell, Craig Ronaldson, Matt Healy; Jack Carty, Kieran Marmion; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Ultan Dillane, Quinn Roux, Sean O’Brien, Jake Heenan, John Muldoon (capt).
Replacements: Tom McCartney, Ronan Loughney, JP Cooney, James Cannon, Nepia Fox-Matamua, Caolin Blade, Steve Crosbie, Rory Parata.
NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS: Tom Prydie; Adam Hughes, Tyler Morgan, Adam Warren, Pat Howard; Dorian Jones, Tavis Knoyle; Sam Hobbs, Elliot Dee, Brok Harris, Nick Crosswell, Rynard Landman, Ollie Griffiths, Nic Cudd, Lewis Evans (capt).
Replacements: Darran Harris, Thomas Davies, Lloyd Fairbrother, Cory Hill, Harrison Keddie, Sarel Pretorius, Angus O’Brien, Sam Beard.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Shane Kierans (Ireland)
Television Match Official: Charles Samson (Scotland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Connacht to win: 1/8; Draw: 30/1; Newport Gwent Dragons to win: 11/2
Pre-Match Quotes: Tiernan O’Halloran (Connacht) – “Getting the win last weekend over Cardiff Blues was hugely satisfying, and I was delighted to get the winning drop goal. But in fairness the work was done around me, and I was just in the right place at the right time to slot the kick.
“The last two or three times I have been over at Cardiff Arms Park, it has always gone down to the last few minutes. And we felt we had been unlucky on the back of some of the refereeing decisions that were made too.
But it was fantastic to get over the line in the end and get that win to give us a much-needed kick after the disappointment of Toulouse a few weeks ago.
“It’s great to get back into the PRO12 Championship now again, and with the Six Nations on, it means there are a couple of key fixtures coming up where we need to get maximum points if we want to keep pushing to get near the top six again.
“We have a pretty good record against the Dragons at home, but we know they can be a tough opposition. We are looking forward to being back in front of our home fans and hopefully we can put on a show for them. We haven’t played at the Sportsground since Zebre visited in the Champions Cup last month and we love our home games.
“If it is a dry day we will look to score tries, but first things first, we need to get the win and build momentum in this crucial block of games. Looking at this period last year, this is where we made up a lot of ground with some teams more disrupted due to the Six Nations than others.
“We were only missing one or two of our players at that time and it made a huge difference come the end of the season, so this is a crucial time for us to pick up some vital points.”
Adam Warren (Newport Gwent Dragons) – “Last year Connacht were brilliant and turned a lot of heads. Nobody expected them to win the league. This season maybe they have forced things a bit in their game, but when they get it right they score some good tries.
“It’s a big game for us because they are only just above us in the table. We haven’t been brilliant away but if we bring that attacking intent that we have at home I am confident we can do a job.
“Connacht is one of the places that teams don’t enjoy going but for us, it would be a great ground to get that away win to change things round for us. If we do that, we can climb the table and put pressure on teams like the Blues above us by finishing the season strongly.”
Top Scorers – 2016/17 GUINNESS PRO12: Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 68; Tries: Niyi Adeolokun 4; Newport Gwent Dragons – Points: Angus O’Brien 77; Tries: Pat Howard 4
2016/17 TEAM FORM: Connacht – Played 13, Won 5, Lost 8, 25 Points; L 41-5 v Glasgow Warriors (home), L 32-11 v Ospreys (home), L 17-8 v Scarlets (away), W 28-15 v Edinburgh (home), W 30-25 v Ulster (home), L 24-13 v Leinster (away), L 21-16 v Newport Gwent Dragons (away), W 18-7 v Cardiff Blues (home), W 47-8 v Benetton Treviso (home), L 23-7 v Ulster (away), L 16-9 v Munster (home), L 29-7 v Ospreys (away), W 19-13 v Cardiff Blues (away); Newport Gwent Dragons – Played 14, Won 4, Lost 10, 19 Points; L 29-8 v Ulster (away), W 11-6 v Zebre (home), L 20-16 v Munster (home), L 27-11 v Benetton Treviso (away), L 26-17 v Glasgow Warriors (home), L 31-27 v Scarlets (away), L 35-17 v Ospreys (away), W 21-16 v Connacht (home), W 27-19 v Edinburgh (home), L 28-15 v Leinster (away), L 27-16 v Cardiff Blues (away), L 10-0 v Ospreys (home), Won 26-8 v Benetton Treviso (home), L 45-17 v Munster (away)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Sunday, March 23, 2014 – Newport Gwent Dragons 8 Connacht 24, Rodney Parade
Saturday, September 6, 2014 – Connacht 16 Newport Gwent Dragons 11, the Sportsground
Sunday, February 22, 2015 – Newport Gwent Dragons 25 Connacht 30, Rodney Parade
Friday, September 4, 2015 – Connacht 29 Newport Gwent Dragons 23, the Sportsground
Thursday, February 11, 2016 – Newport Gwent Dragons 21 Connacht 26, Rodney Parade
Friday, November 4, 2016 – Newport Gwent Dragons 21 Connacht 16, Rodney Parade
MATCH FACTS:
– Connacht’s 19-13 victory in Cardiff last Sunday ended a three-match losing run in the GUINNESS PRO12, while the westerners’ only home loss in their last eight matches in all tournaments was to Munster in the PRO12 on New Year’s Eve
– The Newport Gwent Dragons have won only one of their last five PRO12 fixtures: 26-8 at home to Benetton Treviso in round 13
– The Dragons have not won away from home in the PRO12 since a visit to Treviso in March 2015
– The Dragons beat Connacht in round 8 in Newport and have only once before achieved a PRO12 season’s double over the province, in the inaugural home and away season of 2003/04 (the only previous time the Dragons have won in Galway)
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