After losing at Leinster, it is vital for defending GUINNESS PRO12 champions Connacht to get back to winning ways in Newport ahead of a two-week break for the November internationals.
GUINNESS PRO12: Friday, November 4
NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS (10th) v CONNACHT (9th), Rodney Parade, 7.15pm (live Galway Bay FMhighlights TG4)
Team News: Connacht head coach Pat Lam has made five personnel changes to his team for the trip to play the Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade.
Bundee Aki returns to the starting line-up and partners Peter Robb in midfield. 25-year-old Stacey Ili will make his first GUINNESS PRO12 start on the left wing, while Monivea man Caolin Blade comes in at scrum half.
There are two changes up front as hooker Shane Delahunt, the scorer of Connacht’s only try against Leinster, is promoted from the bench and Eoin McKeon returns to the back row.
Academy prop Saba Meunargia (pictured below) has recovered from injury to be included among the replacements. If called upon, the 22-year-old will make his first PRO12 appearance, having featured twice in the European Challenge Cup.
Following injuries and international call-ups, James Connolly and Shane O’Leary have both been recalled to the bench, and Academy back Conor McKeon, who has recently transitioned from out-half to scrum half, makes his first appearance in a Connacht matchday squad this season.
Tom McCartney, Denis Buckley, Ronan Loughney, Ivan Soroka, Conan O’Donnell, Ben Marshall, Sean O’Brien, Nepia Fox-Matamua, Eoghan Masterson, Rory Moloney, John Cooney, Craig Ronaldson, Matt Healy, Josh Rowland, Darragh Leader and Ciaran Gaffney remain on Connacht’s injury list, while Finlay Bealham, Ultan Dillane and Kieran Marmion are away with the Ireland squad in Chicago.
Meanwhile, Dragons boss Kingsley Jones is missing the Wales-tied Hallam Amos, Tyler Morgan, Cory Hill and Leon Brown for the visit of Connacht, who lie a place above them in the table.
Full-back Tom Prydie retains his position in the back-three and is joined by wingers Pat Howard and Ashton Hewitt. The centre partnership remains unchanged with Sam Beard and Jack Dixon getting the nod. Out-half Angus O’Brien returns from illness to replace the injured Nick Macleod (foot), and is joined at half-back by South African Sarel Pretorius.
The front row has one change as loosehead prop Phil Price combines with hooker Rhys Thomas and tighthead Brok Harris. Nick Crosswell and Rynard Landman continue together at lock, with the back row consisting of flankers Lewis Evans and Ollie Griffiths and number 8 Ed Jackson.
NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS: Tom Prydie; Pat Howard, Sam Beard, Jack Dixon, Ashton Hewitt; Angus O’Brien, Sarel Pretorius; Phil Price, Rhys Thomas, Brok Harris, Nick Crosswell, Rynard Landman, Lewis Evans (capt), Ollie Griffiths, Ed Jackson.
Replacements: Rhys Buckley, Sam Hobbs, Lloyd Fairbrother, Matthew Screech, Nic Cudd, Tavis Knoyle, Geraint Rhys Jones, Adam Warren.
CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran; Niyi Adeolokun, Bundee Aki, Peter Robb, Stacey Ili; Jack Carty, Caolin Blade; JP Cooney, Shane Delahunt, Conor Carey, Quinn Roux, Andrew Browne, Eoin McKeon, Jake Heenan, John Muldoon (capt).
Replacements: Dave Heffernan, Saba Meunargia, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, James Cannon, James Connolly, Conor McKeon, Shane O’Leary, Cian Kelleher.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: David Wilkinson (Ireland), Jason Bessant (Wales)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Newport Gwent Dragons to win: 15/8; Draw: 30/1; Connacht to win: 4/9
Pre-Match Quotes: Pat Lam (Connacht) – “It’s always tough for us going over to Rodney Parade. Even when we’ve been successful there, they were always hard-fought wins.
“The Dragons, under Kingsley Jones, have changed their mindset in terms of how they like to play the game and they certainly use the ball a lot more. It’s set up to be a good game of rugby but we have to remain focused on our own jobs.
“Our mental preparation is vital, particularly in another short week where we are on the road for the third week in a row. It’s the last game before a two-week break in fixtures so, as a group, we are determined to right the wrongs from a disappointing performance (against Leinster) last time out.”
Nick Croswell (Newport Gwent Dragons) – “We can jump Connacht with a win and can then look at the next team. A win would be massive for morale and jumping ahead of Connacht would be massive.
“Connacht will be disappointed with a few of their performances coming off winning the PRO12 but they are dangerous with a really tight pack. They do the basics well – they carry hard, clean out rucks hard and tackle hard. We are after every win we can get and know we have to dig deep.
“Week in, week out we play some good rugby but haven’t got the results. We don’t make any excuses, we put our hands up to what we have lacked and where we’ve got to be better.
“We had an awesome result against a top French side in Brive last time we were at home (a 37-16 win) and we love being at Rodney Parade. It’s good to be back in front of our home crowd after a tough couple of weeks.”
Top Scorers – 2016/17 GUINNESS PRO12: Newport Gwent Dragons – Points: Nick Macleod 24; Tries: Pat Howard 3; Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 34; Tries: Niyi Adeolokun, Cian Kelleher 3 each
2016/17 TEAM FORM: Newport Gwent Dragons – Played 7, Won 1, Lost 6, 7 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); Connacht – Played 6, Won 2, Lost 4, 10 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)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, December 21, 2013 – Connacht 14 Newport Gwent Dragons 11, the Sportsground
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
MATCH FACTS:
– The Newport Gwent Dragons’ only victory in the GUINNESS PRO12 since the end of January was 11-6 at home to Zebre on September 9
– The Dragons won their most recent fixture at Rodney Parade – 37-16 over Brive in the European Challenge Cup – but have not won successive matches at the venue since the New Year
– Connacht’s four-match winning run in all competitions ended with their defeat at Leinster last Saturday
– The PRO12 champions have not been victorious away from home in the Championship since a trip to Edinburgh in early March
– Connacht have won their last seven encounters with the Dragons since the men of Gwent were victorious 14-3 at Rodney Parade in November 2012
This website uses cookies.
Read More