Connacht v L Irish: Teams

At the Sportsground, Friday October 17, kick-off 7pm

Last updated: 16th October 2008

Buckland: Starts against Connacht

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Michael Bradley has made three changes to his Connacht side for their encounter with London Irish at the Sportsground on Friday.

In the forwards Adrian Flavin starts at hooker against his former side while Ray Ofisa is selected at blindside flanker.

In the backs Aidan Wynne comes into the side at inside centre for the injured Mel Deane.

The Exiles, who began their Challenge Cup Pool one campaign with an emphatic bonus point win over Rugby Rovigo, make one change to their stating line-up.

James Buckland starts in place of Danie Coetzee at hooker with David Paice taking his place among the replacements

South Africa international Faan Rautenbach returns to join All Black Clarke Dermody in providing front-row cover on the bench.

"Last Saturday we showed how serious we are about the Challenge Cup and how we want to compete in it," said London Irish coach Toby Booth.

"The players finished strong and clinically in the match with Rovigo and that shows how determined they are to do well in the tournament

"It's a case of taking one step at a time and if we're good enough, we'll put ourselves in a position to realise our objective for this competition come the final stage of the season."

Connacht: 15 Fionn Carr, 14 Liam Bibo, 13 Gavin Duffy, 12 Aidan Wynne, 11 John Hearty, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Frank Murphy, 8 John Muldoon (c), 7 Jonny O'Connor, 6 Ray Ofisa, 5 Andrew Farley, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Robbie Morris, 2 Adrian Flavin, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Andrew Browne, 19 Colm Rigney, 20 Kieran Campbell, 21 Andy Dunne, 22 Denis Riordan.

London Irish: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Elvis Seveali'i, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Peter Hewat, 9 Paul Hodgson, 8 Chris Hala'Ufia, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Richard Thorpe, 5 Bob Casey (captain), 4 Nick Kennedy, 3 Tonga Lea'aetoa, 2 James Buckland, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Clarke Dermody, 17 David Paice, 18 Faan Rautenbach, 19 Gary Johnson, 20 Declan Danaher, 21 Peter Richards/Tom Parker, 22 Shane Geraghty.