3 of the front 5 dropped from the matchday squad after being knackered/rubbish against Exeter (delete to taste). Harsh but fair. Worried about Poolman in the centre, he was beyond awful there away to Exeter.

12 homegrown players in the 23.

La Rochelle matchday 23
Vincent PELO, Thomas SYNAEGHEL, Hikaïro FORBES, Lekso KAULASHVILI, Uini ATONIO, Benoît BOURRUST, Hadrien VASLIN, Mathieu TANGUY, Leandro CEDARO, Benoît GUYOT, Nicolas DJEBAÏLI, Zeno KIEFT, Loann GOUJON, Albain MERON, Julien AUDY, Julien BERGER, Hamish GARD, Fabien FORTASSIN, Jean-Pascal BARRAQUE, Alofa ALOFA, Albert VULI VULI, Charles BOULDOIRE, Eliott ROUDIL, Damien CLER, Arthur CESTARO

Connacht team to face La Rochelle

23rd January 2015

Head Coach Pat Lam has made six changes – four to the pack – to his side to face La Rochelle in the final pool game of the European Challenge Cup. Connacht, who are still in the mix to secure one of the three best runner-up spots and a place in the quarter final, travel to France for the Saturday evening fixture (kick off 18:30).

Fullback Mils Muliaina will captain the side for the first time tomorrow while John Muldoon, who has started 16 of 18 games this season, is named on the bench.

Darragh Leader comes on to the right wing to allow Danie Poolman to shift to outside centre in the absence of Robbie Henshaw while 22-year-old Conor Finn from Galway wears the number 12 shirt.

Up front, the props are changed with Ronan Loughney and Nathan White, who both just signed new two year deals with the province, coming in. 33-year-old White, who was yesterday named in the 46-man Ireland squad ahead of the RBS 6 Nations, makes his return to the senior team after a ten-week absence due to injury. Galway men Andrew Browne and Eoin McKeon represent the other changes to the pack.

Commenting on the team selection and the upcoming game, Head Coach Pat Lam said:

“With injuries to four of our mid fielders, the versatility of Danie (Poolman) sees him move to outside centre while young Conor (Finn) gets another opportunity after an impressive starting performance in our last game in France against Bayonne.

“With this being our tenth consecutive game at the end of a very busy block of fixtures, we felt it was important to bring in fresh legs up front against another big, physical forward pack in La Rochelle. The fact that the changes here sees all senior and experienced guys come in just highlights the competition for places we have this season in some positions.

“With the rotation of John (Muldoon) and Nathan (White) just coming back from injury, Mils (Muliaina) was the clear choice to lead the side tomorrow. As someone who has captained both the All Blacks and the Chiefs, his experience and influence on and off the park will be crucial for us tomorrow in a tough environment.

“This is knock out football already and we have prepared accordingly with a simple focus of getting the job done and reaching the last eight.”

15. Mils Muliaina (captain)
14. Darragh Leader
13. Danie Poolman
12. Conor Finn
11. Matt Healy
10. Jack Carty
9. Kieran Marmion

1. Ronan Louhgney
2. Tom McCartney
3. Nathan White
4. Quinn Roux
5. Andrew Browne
6. Eoin McKeon
7. Willie Faloon
8. George Naoupu

Replacements:

16. Dave Heffernan
17. JP Cooney
18. Finlay Bealham
19. Danny Qualter
20. John Muldoon
21. Caolin Blade
22. Miah Nikora
23. Niyi Adeolokun

Unavailable/Injured: Jason Harris-Wright, Sean Henry, Ultan Dillane, Mick Kearney, John Cooney, Ian Porter, Craig Ronaldson, Bundee Aki, Dave McSharry, Robbie Henshaw

www.connachtrugby.ie/connacht-team-to-fa...elle-2/#ConnachtNews

Linley Mackenzie tweeting 5 personnel changes - White, Browne, McKeon, Finn and Leader in for Ah You, Muldowney, Muldoon, McSharry and Henshaw, and one positional change, Poolman joining Finn at centre.

Looks like he's gone with close to the strongest team available.

GTTC wrote:

galway_gas wrote: Is the game on TV anywhere?

Don't think so! Galway Bay Fm, Twitter, Facebook are your friends.

TG4 have highlights on Saturday night at half 11 I think it is (saw a tweet about it earlier)

Heard RM on his podcast say that he was going over to d9 commentary

.... and ultimate rugby app!

galway_gas wrote: Is the game on TV anywhere?

Don't think so! Galway Bay Fm, Twitter, Facebook are your friends.

La Rochelle v Connacht – Stade Marcel-Deflandre European Rugby Challenge Cup Pool 2 Round 6
Saturday 24th January 2015 Kick Off 17:30

After letting a 7 point half time advantage slip at home to Exeter, Connacht are now faced with a do or die match with La Rochelle if they hope to advance to the quarter finals. A bonus point win will see Connacht progress, while a win would likely see them qualifying it wouldn't be 100% certain. La Rochelle are bottom of the Top 14 and already out of the competition but will look to find some form at home ahead of crucial Top 14 matches

Other Match Stats
La Rochelle have the worst scoring difference in the Top 14 with -136

La Rochelle Stats
Website: www.staderochelais.com/
Founded: 1898
Ground: Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Capacity: 12,500
Coaches: Patrice Collazo, Fabrice Ribeyrolles

Pro D2 League Position 2013/14: 3rd P:30 Points 98. (Beat Agen 31-22 in play off final)
Top 14 League Position 2014/15: 14th P:16 Points:26

Previous Fixtures
La Rochelle 19-15 Grenoble (Round 14)
Castres 30-15 La Rochelle (Round 15)
Toulouse 29-26 La Rochelle (Round 16)
Bayonne 14-0 La Rochelle (Round 5 Challenge Cup)

Next Fixture:
Saturday 31st January 2015 La Rochelle v Clermont Kick Off: 18:30 (local time) @ Stade Deflandre (Top 14 Round 17)

European Rugby Challenge Cup (Pool 2)
Exeter 20
Connacht 15
Bayonne 9
La Rochelle 4

La Rochelle Ins and Outs 2014/15
Players In
Alofa Alofa from Waratahs
Romana Graham from Exeter Chiefs
Jean-Marc Doussain from Toulouse
Jone Qovu from Racing Métro

Previous Meetings
Saturday 18th October 2014 European Challenge Cup Pool 2 Round 1
Connacht 48-12 La Rochelle
www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/29228.php

Is the game on TV anywhere?

Heenan back is a huge plus. Having him for those games during the 6 nations could be crucial. The game against Edinburgh in particular showed how badly we need him as an option. If he can get a run free of injuries until the end of the season, it'd improve our hopes of Top 6 or 7 significantly.

if McSharry isn't fit enough (no risk should be taken without Henshaw and Aki), I'd go to France with a Leader/Finn pairing

So if White broke his nose it is not hindering his involvement. It is tough on Ronaldson as I'd say he was inline for good run of games at 10 finally. Hopefully Carty takes this opportunity to re-establish himself, he seemed improved against Exeter. Running thin at centre, will be interesting to see who lines up there against La Rochelle. Good to hear Heenan and TOH are back to training. Will need all hands for the 2nd half of the season if Connacht are to keep up the push for 6th place.

Squad Update ahead of La Rochelle game

20th January 2015

With a quarter final spot still up for grabs in the European Challenge Cup, the Connacht squad were straight back to training in Galway today ahead of the away clash with La Rochelle on Saturday January 24th (kick off 6:30pm local time).

There were some injury concerns for the coaching staff following the bruising 24 – 33 defeat to Exeter Chiefs on Sunday afternoon. Centre Dave McSharry took a knock to the head shortly before half time and did not return to the field after failing to pass the pitch side concussion test. The 24-year-old centre will continue to observe the return-to-play protocols and will be monitored ahead of the team selection later in the week.

McSharry’s midfield partner Robbie Henshaw sustained a low-grade ankle sprain during the game. The Ireland international will not recover in time for this week’s game in France.

Meanwhile, outhalf Craig Ronaldson, who was forced to withdraw on Sunday just before kick off after straining his quad muscle in the warm up, is expected to be out of action for 2-3 weeks.

In better news, Tiernan O’Halloran and Jake Heenan have both returned to full training this week after recovering from long-term injuries. The duo are expected to be involved in the Connacht Eagles game with Germany at the Sportsground on Saturday (kick off 2:30pm).

Following his successful return to action for the Eagles last week, tighthead prop Nathan White is also fit and available to Pat Lam and the coaching staff this week.

Connacht Eagles v Germany
The Sportsground
Saturday 24th January
Kick off 2:30pm

La Rochelle v Connacht
Stade Marcel Deflandre
Saturday 24th January
Kick off 6:30pm (local time)
Referee: Neil Patterson

Going to win it, restore confidence, hope a BP or at least a good point-magin, but not to hinder the rest of the main exhausted players


I'd pick :

1)Lough
2)Heff
3) Beal
4) Swift
5) Kearney
6) Browne
7) McKeon
8 ) Qualter

9) Blade
10) Nik
11) Niyi
12) Ronaldson if fit / Leader
13 Finn
14) Carr
15) Leader/Layden (see above)

16) Delahunt
17) JP
18) Dever
19) Noup
20) Connolly
21) Mamion
22) Carty
23) Layden/Mils (see above)