Connaht captain John Muldoon is set to be the first player to break the 200-appearance barrier in the Pro 12 when his side take on Cardiff Blues at the Arms Park on Friday night.
League leaders Connacht head to the Welsh capital on the back of sis consecutive league victories, including last weekend’s famous win over Munster at Thomond Park.
Coach Pat Lam has made eight changes in total from the side which won in Limerick, and is without talisman Robbie Henshaw after the Ireland centre broke a bone in his hand during the final play of the Munster victory.
Darragh Leader comes in on the right wing for the Westerners, with Tiernan O’Halloran moving to replace Henshaw at fullback, while Jack Carty starts at 10 alongside Ian Porter at nine, who makes his first start of the season.
Rodney Ah You returns alongside Dave Heffernan and Ronan Loughney while Quinn Roux also returns to the fold after recovering from injury, and he partners Aly Muldowney at lock.
Ahead of the fixture in Cardiff, Lam said: “We have another big game on the road again this week. Cardiff has been a difficult fixture for us the past few seasons and they are very tough to beat at home. They have some quality, experienced players in their squad and they will view this game as a chance to get back to winning ways.
“We know we will have to be at our best and fully focused as a team to get the four points on offer in another vital PRO12 game, before attention switches to Europe.
“With the short turn around and following a very physical game against Munster, we obviously see some changes in the side this week. While we lost four more guys to injury in the last game, we also have players coming back into contention. And with competition as high as ever, it makes our job for selection that bit more difficult but that’s what we want as coaches.”
Connacht: Tiernan O'Halloran, Darragh Leader, Bundee Aki, Craig Ronaldson, Matt Healy, Jack Carty, Ian Porter, Ronan Loughney, Dave Heffernan, Rodney Ah You, Quinn Roux, Aly Muldowney, John Muldoon, James Connolly, Eoin McKeon.
Replacements: Jason Harris-Wright, Conan O'Donnell, Finlay Bealham, George Naoupu, Sean O'Brien, Kieran Marmion, Peter Robb, Rory Parata.
Cardiff: Rhys Patchell, Alex Cuthbert, Rey Lee-Lo, Gavin Evans, Tom James, Jarrod Evans, Lloyd Williams; Gethin Jenkins, Ethan Lewis, Taufa'ao Filise, Jarrad Hoeata, Lou Reed, Macauley Cook, Josh Turnbull, Manoa Vosawai.
Replacements: Kristian Dacey, Sam Hobbs, Craig Mitchell, James Down, Cam Dolan, Tavis Knoyle, Garyn Smith, Dan Fish.
