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Jake Heenan captain, Rodney Ah You to start Connacht Eagles' clash with Ravens tomorrow

The Kiwi openside will meet his compatriot Tim Boys on his road to recovery.

JAKE HEENAN WILL continue to build his match fitness up by captaining the Connacht Eagles when they take on the Ulster  Ravens at the Sportsground tomorrow (KO 16.00).

Heenan has not played for the westerners’ senior side since undergoing a second shoulder surgery in the space of a year last September.

jake - Copy Jake Heenan, John Muldoon and Mils Muliaina will be part of the Mazda Rugby roadshow when it stops at Fota Island Resort, Cork on Sunday February 8 from 10.30 until 12.30.

However, the New Zealander made his comeback in the Connacht Eagles comfortable win over Germany last week and will hope tomorrow’s hit-out against the Ravens will give his shoulder a stern test.

“My shoulder was great [against Germany],” he told The42 today.

“Body wise, I had a couple of stitches and a sprained finger, but other than that, we’re laughing.

It was a hard game to get into; really stop-start and we didn’t build phases too well. We’d either break and score or break and dropped the ball. But I felt fine in myself. I was playing with a lot of boys I hadn’t played with before and academy boys, it was tough to get into but good physically.

“Really looking forward to playing a good team in Ulster tomorrow with a few more experienced players.”

Heenan’s opposite number tomorrow will also be speaking with a Kiwi accent as the Ravens have named new recruit Tim Boys at openside.

Tim Boys Tim Boys on his 100th appearance for Southland. Photosport / Joseph Johnson/INPHO Photosport / Joseph Johnson/INPHO / Joseph Johnson/INPHO

Boys arrived from Southland this week as a medical joker to cover the province for back rows and he’s joined by his compatriot Sean Reidy who joined the province from Counties Manukau last summer.

Connacht Eagles: T O’Halloran; N Adeolokun, C Finn, R Parata, F Carr; S O’Leary, C Blade:  R Loughney, D Heffernan, R Ah You; U Dillane, M Kearney, M Fifita, J Heenan (capt.), D QualterReplacements (16-25): S Delahunt, JP Cooney, F Bealham, M Swift, E Masterson, A Browne, J Cooney, S Layden, C McKeon, J Connolly.

Ulster Ravens: P Nelson; R Adair, R Andrew, J Pentland, A Craig, M Heaney, C Young: K McCall, J Andrew, D Ryan, L Stevenson (capt.), N McComb, S Reidy, T Boys, C Butterworth.

Replacements (16-23): P Jackson, C Trenier, R Murphy, F Taggart, C Joyce, J Bingham, M Best, A Liddell.

 This Mazda Rugby Roadshow event is the ideal opportunity for young rugby fans and adults alike to meet and receive rugby skills from top Rugby players.

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Ireland will play their first Friday night Six Nations fixture against Wales in 2017

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