ANDY FRIEND HAS selected his Connacht squad for tomorrow’s Challenge Cup fixture against CA Brive at the Stade Amedee-Domenech (k/o 8pm Irish time).

There are eight changes to the side that beat Newcastle Falcons last Saturday at The Sportsground. Two of those changes will see first Connacht starts for Sam Illo and Darragh Murray.

Peter Dooley is the only player from the front five that started last weekend that keep his place. He’s joined by Shane Delahunt and Sam Illo in the front row.

Gavin Thornbury pairs up alongside Darragh Murray in the second row. The back row sees Shamus Hurley-Langton and Paul Boyle keep their place at 7 and 8 while Oisin Dowling will wear the number 6.

In the backs Kieran Marmion starts at scrum half, Bundee Aki returns to centre and Conor Fitzgerald is named at full back.

Commenting on the team selection, Director of Rugby Andy Friend says:

“We’ve won 5 of our last 7 and tomorrow we hope to make it 6 from 8, so there’s a real sense of momentum building within the group. As is always the case, we can still tidy up certain areas of our game, but overall we’re in a good place heading into Christmas.

A French team at their home ground is a tough challenge no matter who we face, and Brive will be exactly that tomorrow night. I’m confident we have a group of 23 men who will meet that challenge head on in what will be a physical encounter. There’ll be a few familiar faces in the opposition that we’ll look forward to catching up with after the game.”

CONNACHT RUGBY MATCHDAY 23 VS CA BRIVE

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