Michael McDonald is handed his first Connacht start at scrum-half for Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup fixture away to Lyon.
Captain Jack Carty partners McDonald from out-half, while Tom Daly and Tom Farrell are named at centre. Shayne Bolton looks to continue his good run of form on the wing.
Andrew Smith and full-back JJ Hanrahan completing the back three.
The front row consists of Peter Dooley, Dylan Tierney-Martin and Jack Aungier, while Darragh Murray and Joe Joyce are paired together in the second row.
Sean Jansen returns from injury to start at number 8, with flankers Cian Prendergast and Jarrad Butler alongside them.
“Preparations have been going really well for this trip to France” said head coach Pete Wilkins.
“We gave the group a few days to recover after the Munster game which was important, then we came in last Thursday and Friday to review, which then allowed us the full week to prep for Lyon”.
“So the build-up has gone really well” added Willins. “Lyon like many French teams have plenty of talented individuals who will punish you if given the opportunity”.
“We’ll travel down there aiming to put our stamp on the game and if we do that and play to our ability, we’ll have a great chance.”
Connacht: 15. JJ Hanrahan, 14. Andrew Smith, 13. Tom Farrell, 12. Tom Daly, 11. Shayne Bolton, 10. Jack Carty (C), 9. Michael McDonald, 1. Peter Dooley, 2. Dylan Tierney-Martin, 3. Jack Aungier, 4. Darragh Murray, 5. Joe Joyce, 6. Cian Prendergast, 7. Jarrad Butler, 8. Sean Jansen.
Replacements: 16. Tadgh McElroy, 17. Denis Buckley, 18. Dominic Robertson-McCoy, 19. Oisín Dowling, 20. Conor Oliver, 21. Matthew Devine, 22. David Hawkshaw, 23. Shane Jennings
Connacht v Lyon
The Sportsground
Saturday 13th January, Kick-off: 13:00.
