Wasps v Connacht: Kurtley Beale handed debut in Champions Cup
By Tony Tighe
Last Updated: 11/12/16 4:34pm
Kurtley Beale will make his Wasps debut in Sunday's Champions Cup tie with Connacht, live on Sky Sports 2 HD from 12.30pm.
The Australia international has been named at inside centre following a seven-month injury lay-off with a patella tendon problem, and partners Alapati Leiua.
"I've been really impressed with Kurtley's work ethic since he arrived," said Wasps director of rugby Dai Young.
"He has worked his socks off to get back and has fitted in brilliantly with the squad. We all know how talented a player he is, but he's also very humble and keen to develop further, which makes him a pleasure to work with.
"It was important to wait until he was feeling confident in his knee and his fitness, and it's great he's in that place now after being back in training with the squad for three weeks.
"It will naturally take him a bit of time to get up to speed with our patterns and to return to match-sharpness after a while out, so we'll be patient on that front, but he's a world-class talent who has looked hugely skillful in training and we're all excited to have him back and ready to play for Wasps."
Young welcomes back wing Christian Wade after recovering from a foot injury, but Danny Cipriani is sidelined with a calf injury so Jimmy Gopperth starts at fly-half.
Joe Launchbury and Nathan Hughes return to the pack after an impressive month with England.
Connacht top Pool 2 after winning their opening two fixtures and Pat Lam has made four changes to the team that beat Treviso last weekend.
Cian Kelleher swaps wings to accommodate the return of Niyi Adeolokun while fellow Ireland international Ultan Dillane is restored to the second row.
Kieran Marmion and Jack Carty are the half-back pairing and hooker Tom McCartney makes his 50th Connacht appearance.
"The back-to-back window in Champions Cup is always the most testing and the draw hasn't let us down with this match-up with an in-form Wasps' side," said Connacht head coach Pat Lam, who announced this week that he will join Bristol at the end of the season.
"They are flying high in the Premiership and have not lost a game at home in 2016. To be involved in this type of fixture is exactly what we worked so hard for last year.
"We are excited by the challenge and opportunity to test ourselves against one of the best teams in Europe."
Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Alapati Leiua, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Dan Robson; 1 Matt Mullan, 2 Tommy Taylor, 3 Marty Moore, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 5 Kearnan Myall, 6 Ashley Johnson, 7 Thomas Young, 8 Nathan Hughes.
Replacements: 16 Alex Rieder, 17 Tom Bristow, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Brendan Macken, 23 Frank Halai.
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Stacey Ili, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Cian Kelleher, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion; 1 Denis Buckley, 2 Tom McCartney, 3 Conor Carey, 4 Ultan Dillane, 5 Quinn Roux, 6 Nepia Fox-Matamua, 7 Jake Heenan, 8 John Muldoon (c).
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 JP Cooney, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Sean O'Brien, 20 Eoin McKeon, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Rory Parata, 23 Peter Robb.
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