Connacht v Dragons: Teams
Connacht have made four changes to their side ahead of fellow basement dwellers the Dragons' visit to the Sportsground on Friday.
Last Updated: 03/04/09 9:46am
Connacht boss Michael Bradley has made four changes to his side ahead of fellow basement dwellers the Dragons' visit to the Sportsground on Friday.
Both Niva Ta'auso and Frank Murphy have overcome their respective hamstring and calf injuries to start for in the backline, while up front Ronan Loughney comes in at tighthead prop and Johnny O'Connor returns to the starting line-up at openside.
Gavin Duffy moves from outside centre to full-back, making way for Ta'auso and Andrew Browne moves to his more familiar position in the second row, with Ray Ofisa starting for Connacht for the first time at number eight.
The Irish province are still without the injured Kieran Campbell (hip), Tim Donnelly (knee), John Hearty (hip), Michael McCarthy (foot) and Robbie Morris (foot).
Connacht have lost their last five games in the Magners League since their 12-6 win at home to Munster on 28 December, although they have a good record against the Dragons with four wins out of their last five games.
Meanwhile, Dragons boss Paul Turner has Sevens World Cup winner Tom Isaacs withdraw with a hip injury, whilst Aled Brew is set to make his first start since returning to the region.
Promising youngster Jason Tovey has been thrust forward into the number ten jersey as the Welsh, who are fresh from almost a month's break, look to extend their cushion above their opponents.
A Dragons win would provide them with successive away wins n the Magners League for the first time since September 2006.
Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy, 14 Fionn Carr, 13 Niva Ta'auso, 12 Keith Matthews, 11 Liam Bibo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Frank Murphy 8 Ray Ofisa, 7 Johnny O'Connor, 6 John Muldoon (capt), 5 Andrew Farley, 4 Andrew Browne, 3 Ronan Loughney, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Adrian Flavin, 17 Brian McGovern, 18 Michael Swift, 19 Colm Rigney, 20 Conor O'Loughlin, 21 Andy Dunne, 22 Troy Nathan.
Dragons: 15 Kevin Morgan, 14 Richard Fussell, 13 Rory Sidey, 12 Ashley Smith, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Joe Bearman, 7 Richard Parks, 6 Hoani Macdonald, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Sean Tomes, 3 Rhys Thomas, 2 Tom Willis (capt), 1 Hugh Gustafson.
Replacements: 16 Steve Jones, 17 Nigel Hall, 18 Adam Jones, 19 Danny Lydiate, 20 Martyn Thomas, 21 Shaun Connor, 22 Robert Lewis.
