Four in line for Connacht debuts
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:31
Four players are in line to make their first starts for Connacht, when the Irish province clash with Harlequins in a pre-season outing at the Sportsground in Galway on Saturday.
Connacht coach Michael Bradley named a 26 man squad for the encounter.
The four players who could make their first start for the province are Liam Bibo, Ian Keatley, Sean Cronin and Frank Murphy.
Also included is Connacht captain John Muldoon, who has recovered from a fever he picked up prior to his sides last outing against Leeds.
Bradley said he is hoping for another tough game in the second of their pre-season friendlies.
With both sides having played each other several times over the last number of years, Bradley is well aware of what to expect ahead of the encounter.
"We'd be expecting Harlequins to be in excellent form after a great season last year in which they were unlucky to miss out on a play-off place in the
Guinness Premiership," he said.
"They play a high tempo game with a strong squad and on that basis they'll be presenting an excellent challenge to our players."
With four preseason games in total, Bradley is looking at getting as much game time for as many players as possible.
With that in mind a rotation system will come into effect for the three remaining matches before the Magners League season kicks off in the first week of September.
"It's part of our pre-season build up. By the time we've played Harlequins we'll be hoping the balance of players in the squad will have had some game time. This week the players who were involved in the Churchill Cup and in the national side over the summer, in Australia and New Zealand are available for selection."
Connacht squad: Liam Bibo, Andrew Browne, Kieran Campbell, Sean Cronin, Mel Deane, Gavin Duffy, Andy Dunne, Andrew Farley, Adrian Flavin, John Hearty,
Ian Keatley, Ronan Loughney, John Lyne, Keith Matthews, Michael McCarthy, Brian McGovern, Robbie Morris, Conor Muldoon, John Muldoon, Frank Murphy, Troy Nathan, John O'Connor, Colm Rigney, Michael Swift, Brett Wilkinson, Aidan Wynne.
Date: Saturday, August 16
Venue: Sportsground, Galway
Kick-off: 18.30 (17.30 GMT)
