Connacht v Ospreys: Teams

Ulster will have three of their summer signings in their starting XV to take on the Ospreys.

Brian Tuohy is named on the wing, Mike McComish starts at No.8 while Bernie Upton is included in the second row.

Ulster have also named few new faces, prop Jamie Hagan and New Zealand fly-half Miah Nikora, on the bench.

The Ospreys will hand first starts to Barry Davies and Jerry Collins, while Tom Isaacs is set to make his debut off the bench.

Lions duo Mike Phillips and James Hook are also named in the Ospreys squad, despite their exploits on the tour to South Africa. Phillips starts the match, while Hook is named among the replacements.

And head coach Sean Holley is expecting a difficult encounter.

Tough

"Our first opponents Connacht are really tough customers, and will provide a real test for us," he said.

"They've certainly improved their style of play in the last year or two. Michael Bradley has had them for a long time now and he's moved his squad in a slightly different direction.

"The Sportsground isn't an easy place to play, but having said that, when you look down our squad sheet for the weekend, we're in good shape. We've got a squad that is pretty healthy compared to last season, with some additions. "

Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy, 14 Brian Tuohy, 13 Niva Ta'auso, 12 Keith Matthews, 11 Fionn Carr, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Frank Murphy, 8 Mike McComish, 7 Ray Ofisa, 6 John Muldoon (C), 5 Bernie Upton, 4 Andrew Browne, 3 Robbie Morris, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Adrian Flavin, 17 Jamie Hagan, 18 Michael Swift, 19 Jonny O'Connor, 20 Conor O'Loughlin, 21 Miah Nikora, 22 Troy Nathan.

Ospreys: 15 Barry Davies, 14 Jonny Vaughton, 13 Sonny Parker, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones (c), 7 Marty Holah , 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Andy Lloyd, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Cai Griffiths, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett, 17 Paul James, 18 Tom Smith, 19 Filo Tiatia, 20 Tom Isaacs, 21 James Hook, 22 Jonathan Spratt.