Connacht will have revenge on their minds when they visit Cardiff Arms Park tonight, battling the Blues for some precious Conference A points as they look to banish memories of an early season defeat to the same opposition.
GUINNESS PRO14: Friday, November 24
CARDIFF BLUES (5th, Con A) v CONNACHT (4th, Con A), Cardiff Arms Park, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Wales)
Team News: Connacht go into this GUINNESS PRO14 round 9 fixture without Ireland internationals Bundee Aki, Kieran Marmion and Ultan Dillane, while Jarrad Butler and Craig Ronaldson remain on the injury list.
Niyi Adeoloukun, who scored a decisive try in his first start of the season against the Toyota Cheetahs, starts again on the wing. Matt Healy, who comes in on the left wing, and full-back Tiernan O’Halloran complete the back-three.
Eoin Griffin and Tom Farrell make up the centre pairing and while there is no starting position for new signing Pita Ahki, the former New Zealand Under-20 and Sevens international is named among the replacements.
Jack Carty and Caolin Blade form the half-back pairing with Marmion unavailable due to his involvement with the Ireland squad. In the pack, Dave Heffernan slots in at hooker with Denis Buckley and Finlay Bealham in at loosehead and tighthead prop respectively.
Quinn Roux and James Cannon are retained as the province’s starting second rows, while fit-again flanker Jake Heenan, who is set to leave Connacht at the end of the season, joins Eoin McKeon and captain John Muldoon in the back row.
With four successive wins in all competitions, out-half Carty says Connacht need to maintain consistency in the next few games. “Over the last few games we have managed to get the results we have needed,” he explained. “Our focus now is on consistency away to Cardiff and next week against Zebre, that’s what we need to deliver.
“We need to put in the performances now to put ourselves in a strong position later in the season. We were beaten by Cardiff earlier in the season, but we will not be focusing on that. We will be concentrating on ourselves and our own game.”
Meanwhile, Cardiff Blues have made 10 changes for their return to PRO14 action against Connacht, coming off the back of successive losses to Newcastle Falcons (57-0) and the Ospreys (26-16) in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Head coach Danny Wilson has made wholesale changes for the visit of Connacht due to a combination of players returning and others suffering injury. Two of their key forwards, Josh Navidi and Kristian Dacey, are on duty with Wales against New Zealand this weekend.
Jarrod Evans returns from a broken nose to join Tomos Williams at half-back, while Willis Halaholo and Garyn Smith reform their burgeoning centre partnership. Matthew Morgan starts at full-back with Owen Lane, who makes his PRO14 debut, and Tom James on the wings.
In the pack, Corey Domachowski, captain Matthew Rees and Taufa’ao Filise all come back into the front row, while Olly Robinson and Nick Williams return to the back row following two weeks off. Following his return to action last week, Gareth Anscombe takes his place on the bench along with the recalled Josh Turnbull.
CARDIFF BLUES: Matthew Morgan; Owen Lane, Garyn Smith, Willis Halaholo, Tom James; Jarrod Evans, Tomos Williams; Corey Domachowski, Matthew Rees (capt), Taufa’ao Filise, George Earle, Damian Welch, Macauley Cook, Olly Robinson, Nick Williams.
Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Brad Thyer, Anton Peikrishvili, James Down, Josh Turnbull, Lewis Jones, Gareth Anscombe, Harri Millard.
CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran; Niyi Adeolokun, Eoin Griffin, Tom Farrell, Matt Healy; Jack Carty, Caolin Blade; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Quinn Roux, James Cannon, Eoin McKeon, Jake Heenan, John Muldoon (capt).
Replacements: Shane Delahunt, Peter McCabe, Conor Carey, Gavin Thornbury, Eoghan Masterson, James Mitchell, Steve Crosbie, Pita Ahki.
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Simon Rees, Adam Jones (both Wales)
Television Match Official: Jon Mason (Wales)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Cardiff Blues to win: 4/6; Draw: 19/1; Connacht to win: 6/5
Pre-Match Quotes: Peter Wilkins (Connacht) – “These next two weeks are 100% about winning. It’s a real chance to put some points between us and the rest of the guys in the conference. Performance is important but wins are the be-all and end-all over the next two weeks,” he told the Galway Advertiser.
“We have talked about Test match mentality this week in terms of the context of our season, in terms of who we are playing, in terms of everyone having to be fully switched on. It’s another level of intensity we are trying to create.
“It is stating the obvious that the next two games (away to Cardiff and Zebre) will have an enormous impact on our league position in the Conference, so in context of the league, it is an enormous two weeks coming up.
“We know Cardiff are a team that put immense pressure over the ball, and we’re going to have to get our roles right there if we are going to attack the way we want to. It is a lot about what we can control. We are confident, we feel if we can get the best version of ourselves, we can beat any team in this competition and Cardiff are no different.
“The work we do in this next fortnight and across the two European fixtures (against Brive) will have a huge impact on where we sit in both competitions and will set the tone going into the interpros. We are not hiding from that, players and staff are excited about it.”
Danny Wilson (Cardiff Blues) – “We kick-started our season off the back of the win against Connacht in September, and they’ll be wanting to get revenge. That was a good win and a bit of a milestone for my time here, having not beating them away before then. It has to be matched with a home win.
“We’ve put pressure on ourselves to go after the home win and Championship-wise it will move us up to fourth, and into the qualification area that we want to be in. There’s a real scrap for the places in the table, where one or two wins and the whole Conference picture can change very quickly.
“There’s lots to play for, lots of motivation and it’s a Friday night game at home. Hopefully off the back of a bonus point win against Zebre, and a really pleasing performance, we can go again and do the same.”
Top Scorers – 2017/18 GUINNESS PRO14: Cardiff Blues – Points: Steve Shingler 44; Tries: Willis Halaholo 4; Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 52; Tries: Tiernan O’Halloran 3
2017/18 TEAM FORM: Cardiff Blues – Played 8, Won 3, Lost 5, 15 Points; L 20-10 v Edinburgh (home), L 37-9 v Leinster (away), L 20-19 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 17-15 v Connacht (away), L 39-16 v Munster (away), W 43-29 v Dragons (home), L 30-17 v Scarlets (away), W 37-8 v Zebre (home); Connacht – Played 8, Won 3, Lost 5, 16 Points; L 18-12 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 32-10 v Southern Kings (home), L 21-8 v Dragons (away), L 17-15 v Cardiff Blues (home), L 36-27 v Scarlets (away), L 16-8 v Ulster (away), W 20-16 v Munster (home), W 23-15 v Toyota Cheetahs (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Friday, March 6, 2015 – Cardiff Blues 18 Connacht 17, Cardiff Arms Park
Saturday, October 3, 2015 – Connacht 36 Cardiff Blues 31, the Sportsground
Friday, December 4, 2016 – Cardiff Blues 20 Connacht 16, Cardiff Arms Park
Friday, November 25, 2016 – Connacht 18 Cardiff Blues 7, the Sportsground
Sunday, February 12, 2017 – Cardiff Blues 13 Connacht 19, Cardiff Arms Park
Saturday, September 23, 2017 – Connacht 15 Cardiff Blues 17, the Sportsground
MATCH FACTS:
– Cardiff Blues’ last four matches in the GUINNESS PRO14 have all been won by the home side on the day
– Cardiff have won their last two games at Cardiff Arms Park in the Championship but have not won three in-a-row at the venue since April 2016
– The Welshmen have beaten an Irish province just once in their last ten such encounters, against this weekend’s opponents, Connacht, in round 4 this season
– Connacht have won their last four matches in all competitions since their 16-8 reversal at Ulster in round 6 of the PRO14
– The westerners have not won away from home in the Championship since a visit to Edinburgh in April
– Connacht have lost all three matches they have played against Welsh regions this season, while their only victory in Wales since February 2016 was when they visited Cardiff Arms Park in round 14 last season
– Cardiff beat Connacht 17-15 in Galway in September and have not achieved a season’s double over them since the 2013/14 campaign
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