Buckley set for 200th Connacht appearance

Roscommon’s Denis Buckley will become just the third Connacht player to reach 200 caps tomorrow as Connacht face Bennetton in the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup.

The Roscommon prop made his debut for his home province in September 2011, which coincidentally came in the Stadio di Monigo where he will make appearance 200 tomorrow.

“Denis Buckley’s 200th appearance tomorrow is a huge achievement for him personally and those that helped him along the way” declared Connacht head coach Andy Friend.

“Denis is a consummate professional who has shown determination and loyalty in the 10 years since his debut, and to reach a milestone like this for your home province makes it even sweeter for him”.

“It’s also great to welcome Bundee back to our starting XV. We’re playing a Benetton side who will be hugely motivated to hold on to 1st place in the table, but we’ve still got a lot to play for as well so it should make for a great game” added Friend.

Buckley joins John Muldoon and Michael Swift as the only players to earn a double century of caps for Connacht.

The other notable inclusion is Bundee Aki’s return to the starting XV. Aki hasn’t featured for Connacht in nearly three months after serving a suspension following Ireland duty, and will now be keen to pick up some game-time before he travels with the British & Irish Lions to South Africa.

Aki partners Tom Daly in the centre who starts for the 15th consecutive game, while Alex Wootton, Peter Sullivan and John Porch form the back three. The backs are completed by scrum-half Kieran Marmion and out-half Conor Fitzgerald.

Shane Delahunt and Finlay Bealham partner Buckley in the front row, while Niall Murray and Cian Prendergast are retained after excelling away to Munster last time out.

Murray partners Ultan Dillane in the second row, while Prendergast is joined in the back row by the returning Paul Boyle and captain Jarrad Butler.

Connacht