Carty to hit 150 caps with Connacht as Dragons await

Jack Carty and Finlay Bealham will both line out for Connacht for the 150th time in the Guinness PRO14 fixture away to Dragons tomorrow (Friday) night.

The two Buccaneers players are products of the Connacht Academy, with Athlone native Carty making his professional debut in September 2012 and Bealham in February 2014. Between them they have won 24 Ireland caps.

Carty will be joined by Caolin Blade in the half-back slots, while Bealham lines out in a front row alongside Denis Buckley and Shane Delahunt.

Meanwhile, Brideswell native Niall Murray returns to the Connacht starting line-up, having been introduced as a substitute in the recent defeat to Ospreys. Murray forms a new-look second row partnership with Gavin Thornbury.

Paul Boyle, who captains the side from blindside flanker, will hit the milestone of 50 caps for Connacht, as will Thornbury.

In total, six Buccaneers players are on Connacht's match-day squad - Carty, Bealham, Murray, Delahunt, Boyle and Eoghan Masterson (who is listed in the replacements).

Also among the replacements is Oisin Dowling, who is in line to make his Connacht debut after recovering from a long-term back injury.

Commenting on the game, Connacht head coach Andy Friend said: “This is a must-win for us given the results of the last few weeks. While our home form has been disappointing we’ve had honest reviews of what’s gone wrong and the reaction in training has been good. Our away form has been a positive for us this season, so we’ll look to keep that going tomorrow albeit against tough opposition and a tough place to go in Rodney Parade.”

Regarding his team selection Friend added: “We’ve a number of players earning significant caps tomorrow so I’d like to congratulate Finlay, Jack, Gavin and Paul on the milestones. We’ve also got Oisin Dowling in line for his first appearance which has been long overdue after his back injury, and that’s a testament to him and the medical department. Overall we’ve a pretty healthy squad which is a boost heading into a key part of the season.”

Connacht squad v Dragons

Rodney Parade (Friday, February 5, kick-off 7.35pm)

15. John Porch (30 caps)

14. Peter Sullivan (8)

13. Tom Daly (37)

12. Peter Robb (46)

11. Matt Healy (143)

10. Jack Carty (149)

9. Caolin Blade (121)

1. Denis Buckley (191)

2. Shane Delahunt (89)

3. Finlay Bealham (149)

4. Niall Murray (9)

5. Gavin Thornbury (49)

6. Paul Boyle (49) (captain)

7. Conor Oliver (13)

8. Abraham Papali’i (5)

Replacements

16. Jonny Murphy (11)

17. Jordan Duggan (6)

18. Jack Aungier (9)

19. Oisin Dowling (uncapped)

20. Eoghan Masterson (101)

21. Kieran Marmion (175)

22. Sean O’Brien (2)

23. Alex Wootton (12)