Bornacoola's Shane Mallon has been handed his Connacht debut for tomorrow's meeting with Leinster.
Academy back three player Shane Mallon has been handed a debut for his home province, with the Leitrim man named on the left wing, while Santiago Cordero makes his first Connacht start at full-back.
Whereas, Ballina man Heffernan will make his 200th appearance for the club, coming 12 years after he first made his debut for his home province. Indeed, Heffernan becomes just the eighth Connacht player to reach the milestone.
“Although disappointed we have put ourselves in a position where we are relying on other results to secure our place in the URC top 8, there is no greater incentive for a performance than an away game against Leinster” said head coach Pete Wilkins.
“Both the rivalry and the connections between the two provinces are special, and we have approached this week with excitement, focus and determination”.
Mallon typifies Connacht ethos
“Shane Mallon his first” appearance, “typifies the Connacht ethos of developing local players who understand how special it is to play for this province".
We must ensure we deliver a top-class performance on Friday evening, not only to mark the occasion for these men, but also to ensure our season marches on beyond this weekend and reward our fantastic supporters who have given us so much energy and belief across the season.”
Our Leitrim man making his debut tomorrow at the RDS 💛💚#ConnachtRugby | @ShaneMallon3 pic.twitter.com/TtguD3tK68
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) May 30, 2024
The front row of Peter Dooley, Dave Heffernan and Finlay Bealham is unchanged, while Niall Murray comes into the second row to partner Joe Joyce. Whereas, in the back row Cian Prendergast and Sean Jansen are retained, with Conor Oliver named at openside flanker.
Caolin Blade and Captain Jack Carty start, while there’s a centre partnership of Cathal Forde and David Hawkshaw. Shane Jennings completes the side on the right wing.
Connacht: 15. Santiago Cordero, 14. Shane Jennings, 13. David Hawkshaw, 12. Cathal Forde, 11. Shane Mallon, 10. Jack Carty (C), 9. Caolin Blade, 1. Peter Dooley, 2. Dave Heffernan, 3. Finlay Bealham, 4. Joe Joyce, 5. Niall Murray, 6. Cian Prendergast, 7. Conor Oliver, 8. Sean Jansen.
Replacements: 16. Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17. Denis Buckley, 18. Jack Aungier, 19. Darragh Murray, 20. Seán O’Brien, 21. Colm Reilly, 22. Byron Ralston, 23. Tom Daly
Connacht v Leinster
RDS Arena
Friday 31st May, Kick-off: 19:35
