Toulouse v Connacht: Champions Cup preview
By Keith Moore
Last Updated: 22/01/17 6:09pm
Connacht are chasing a win over Toulouse on Sunday in order to avoid relying on other results to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup.
Of all the fixtures in the final round of the group stages, the match at Stade Ernest Wallon on Sky Sports has the most potential to shake things up in terms of how the quarter-finals are seeded at the end of the group stages.
A win of any kind would guarantee Pat Lam's team a runners-up place at the very least, but they are still in the reckoning to host a quarter-final.
A win for Connacht with a try-bonus point would see them finish top of Pool 4 regardless of what happens between Wasps and Zebre in the other game in the group, but if the Irishmen win without the bonus point and Wasps get all five points in Italy then Dai Young's side will claim top spot due to their superiority over Connacht in the head-to-heads between the two sides.
There is a chance that Wasps could win without the bonus point against the Italians - or indeed lose altogether - but as Zebre have shipped 43 tries in their first five outings in the competition, it's likely the Premiership side will come away from the game with the full complement.
Connacht defeated Toulouse 23-21 in the opening round of the competition, and are currently four points ahead of the Top 14 side in the standings, which means there are two scenarios in which Connacht could lose and still qualify ahead of Toulouse in a runner-up spot. The Irishmen will sneak through if they lose with a bonus point and Toulouse win without scoring four tries, and Connacht would also make the play-offs if Toulouse win and score four tries but the visitors lose by seven points or fewer and score at least four tries in doing so.
In preparation for Sunday's task Lam has made five personnel changes from the team that thrashed Zebre 66-21 six days ago.
Jack Carty has recovered from injury in time to take up the No 10 jersey, while Peter Robb also returns to form a new centre partnership with Craig Ronaldson.
Ireland international Quinn Roux takes his place in the second row after missing out last week, and flankers Nepia Fox-Matamua and Jake Heenan are back to join skipper John Muldoon in the back row.
"We are aware of the phenomenal challenge that awaits us in Toulouse on Sunday but these are the sort of games that you want to be a part of," said Lam. "It's an opportunity as a player and as a team to put in a performance on the big stage.
"While the right outcome would be massive for Irish Rugby, the focus remains on executing our game plan in a pressure environment to get us the win we need."
Toulouse: 15 Yoann Huget, 14 Arthur Bonneval, 13 Yann David , 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Paul Perez, 10 Jean-Marc Doussain, 9 Sébastien Bézy, 1 Cyril Baille, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 3 Census Johnston, 4 Richie Gray, 5 Yoann Maestri, 6 Joe Tekori, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 8 Francois Cro.
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Gurthro Steenkamp, 19 Talalelei Gray, 20 Piula Faasalele, 21 Gillian Galan, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Alexis Palisson.
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Peter Robb, 12 Craig Ronaldson, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 1 Denis Buckley, 2 Tom McCartney, 3 Finlay Bealham, 4 Quinn Roux, 5 James Cannon, 6 Nepia Fox-Matamua, 7 Jake Heenan, 8 John Muldoon (c).
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 JP Cooney, 18 John Andress, 19 Sean O'Brien, 20 Naulia Dawai, 21 John Cooney, 22 Tom Farrell, 23 Danie Poolman.
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