Connacht have plenty of pre-season momentum behind them as they open up their GUINNESS PRO14 season at home to Glasgow Warriors for the third successive year. Will it be a winning start for coach Andy Friend and captain Jarrad Butler?
GUINNESS PRO14: Saturday, September 1
CONNACHT v GLASGOW WARRIORS, the Sportsground, 3pm (live TG4/eir Sport 1 & 2/Premier Sports/Galway Bay FM)
Team News: New signing Kyle Godwin from Australia is set to make his Connacht debut when they host Glasgow Warriors at the Sportsground in the opening game of their GUINNESS PRO14 campaign on Saturday afternoon.
Godwin continues his promising centre partnership from pre-season, lining out with last year’s Connacht Fans’ Player of the Season, Tom Farrell, as the Andy Friend era gets underway in Galway with a mouth-watering clash with Glasgow.
Connacht’s starting back-line for the round 1 fixture includes Ireland international Tiernan O’Halloran at full-back with the province’s record try scorer Matt Healy and Cian Kelleher on the wings. There are also starting berths for Jack Carty and Caolin Blade at half-back.
Props Denis Buckley and Finlay Bealham start at loosehead and tighthead respectively with Mayo native Dave Heffernan given the nod at hooker. Newly-appointed captain Jarrad Butler is selected at openside flanker and Academy player Paul Boyle’s impressive pre-season form earns him his first PRO14 start on the blindside.
The 21-year-old Boyle, who hails from the Wexford town of Gorey, captained the Ireland Under-20s at the 2017 World Rugby U-20 Championship and linked up last summer with the Connacht Academy and Buccaneers via the Leinster sub-Academy. He made his PRO14 debut off the bench against Munster in January.
Tickets are still available for what will be an exciting first chapter of a busy month of rugby in Connacht, the province’s self-titled ‘Month of Champions’. Click here to secure your Connacht v Glasgow Warriors ticket(s).
Meanwhile, Stuart Hogg and Peter Horne will both start for Glasgow Warriors in Galway, featuring at full-back and inside centre respectively, having played for Scotland on the summer tour with Hogg captaining his country for the first time against the USA.
DTH van der Merwe and Tommy Seymour start on either wing and Nick Grigg joins Horne in midfield. Half-backs Adam Hastings and George Horne made their international debuts this summer and combine for their club once more.
Zander Fagerson returns to the front row, starting alongside George Turner and Oli Kebble, with Scott Cummings and Jonny Gray providing the weight behind them. Rob Harley joins co-captains Callum Gibbins and Ryan Wilson in the back row to complete the Scots’ starting XV.
Australia International Nick Frisby is in line to make his competitive Warriors debut off the bench. Versatile Fijian star Niko Matawalu is also among the replacements having impressed in pre-season with three tries in two outings.
Sam Johnson sustained a knee injury during the 41-15 pre-season defeat at Northampton Saints last weekend and is expected to be out of action for six weeks, while Siua Halanukonuka injured his foot in pre-season training and is facing an eight-week lay-off.
CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran; Cian Kelleher, Kyle Godwin, Tom Farrell, Matt Healy; Jack Carty, Caolin Blade; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Ultan Dillane, James Cannon, Paul Boyle, Jarrad Butler (capt), Eoin McKeon.
Replacements: Shane Delahunt, Peter McCabe, Conor Carey, Quinn Roux, Cillian Gallagher, James Mitchell, Craig Ronaldson, Niyi Adeolokun.
GLASGOW WARRIORS: Stuart Hogg; Tommy Seymour, Nick Grigg, Peter Horne, DTH van der Merwe; Adam Hastings, George Horne; Oli Kebble, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Jonny Gray, Rob Harley, Callum Gibbins (co-capt), Ryan Wilson (co-capt).
Replacements: Fraser Brown, Alex Allan, D’arcy Rae, Adam Ashe, Chris Fusaro, Nick Frisby, Alex Dunbar, Niko Matawalu.
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Eddie Hogan O’Connell (Ireland)
Television Match Official: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Connacht to win: 13/10; Draw: 16/1; Glasgow Warriors to win: 8/13
Pre-Match Quotes: Andy Friend (Connacht) – “We’ve had three good pre-season games. You don’t win championships in pre-season, but you can lose them. We’re at the start line in pretty good shape but it’s what we do from here that’s important,” said the Australian.
“We are expecting a massive challenge from Glasgow on Saturday afternoon. They got off to a roaring start in last year’s campaign and I have no doubt they will be looking to do something similar this season.
“They have great strength and depth in their squad so it going to be a big challenge. I have heard so much about the atmosphere that our fans create at the Sportsground and I can’t wait to experience it on Saturday.”
Dave Rennie (Glasgow Warriors) – “The boys have worked hard and we’re excited to rip into it in round 1. We have a tough game away to Connacht who have been in really good form in pre-season so it’s a big challenge first up. We’ve got a few guys coming back in which gives us a lot more experience and we think that will be important.”
Top Scorers – 2017/18 GUINNESS PRO14: Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 131; Tries: Tiernan O’Halloran 6; Glasgow Warriors – Points: Finn Russell 81; Tries: George Horne 9
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, May 7, 2016 – Connacht 14 Glasgow Warriors 7, the Sportsground
Saturday, May 21, 2016 – Semi-final – Connacht 16 Glasgow Warriors 11, the Sportsground
Saturday, September 3, 2016 – Connacht 5 Glasgow Warriors 41, the Sportsground
Saturday, March 25, 2017 – Glasgow Warriors 35 Connacht 24, Scotstoun Stadium
Saturday, September 2, 2017 – Connacht 12 Glasgow Warriors 18, the Sportsground
Friday, April 13, 2018 – Glasgow Warriors 35 Connacht 22, Scotstoun Stadium
MATCH FACTS:
– This is the third successive season that Connacht have begun their GUINNESS PRO14 campaign with a home game against Glasgow Warriors, losing the previous two 41-5 and 18-12
– Connacht beat Leinster 47-10 in the concluding round last season to snap a four-match losing run in the Championship
– The westerners lost all three matches they played against Scottish opponents last season
– Glasgow Warriors have lost only once on the opening weekend since 2012: 16-10 at home to the Scarlets in 2015
– The Warriors were knocked out last season at the semi-final stage by the Scarlets, while their only win in their last five matches was at home to Connacht in April
– Glasgow have won their last four games against Connacht since the province’s 16-11 victory at the Sportsground in the 2016 semi-final
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