Peter McCabe and Niall Murray have replaced Paddy McAllister and Sean O'Brien in the EPCR squad, per Murray Kinsella on twitter. Connacht squad on EPCR site not yet updated.

Update: Irish qualified 20 yr old Australian utility back Will Goddard has joined on a short-term contract to cover TOH. Hotshot schoolboy 10, Brumbies academy, played most of his club rugby in the back 3 in Oz, was on the longlist for the Aussie u20 team but didn't make it. Not added to the EPCR squad so more on trial than anything else it would seem.

Peter McCabe is back training with Connacht according to Copelands instagram story

Bundee has a new profile pic - Animated Ireland jersey - does that mean he's after getting a central contract????

Can't see the IRFU using a precious central contract on a Connacht player, not when one of the other provinces so obviously need them more than us....

Bundee would seem unlikely to be a starting centre in the next world cup (though you never know with the way Ireland players stay in the jersey) so perhaps the IRFU are not bothered to offer him a better contract. It is a position of relative depth though on his day Bundee is better than most or all of the alternatives. No idea how a Farrell union team will play but you assume he will value strength and bosh - he is english after all - so Bundee could be in the mix for him.

Personally wouldn't like to see him leave Bundee has been great for Connacht but he came here to earn money for his family and if he can double that in England or France I won't begrudge him that, its a short career and he's had less big earning time than many.

I would have thought that Bundee’s stature in the Irish squad would have meant he would be looking at a standard 3 year central contract, especially with so many central contracts coming to an end after the WC.
I suspect this is buffering of column inches more than anything given how happy Bundee seems in Galway.

Thanks for sharing Overstrander, there’s another version from a different author on the 42.

the42.ie/4882375

Doubts linger over Aki and Marmion’s Connacht future

Connacht are facing an injury crisis and the long term possibility of life without Ireland internationals Kieran Marmion and Bundee Aki.

Sidelined secondrow duo Gavin Thornbury (elbow) and Quinn Roux (pec) will damage this season’s prospects in a Champions Cup Pool that includes Montpellier, Toulouse and Gloucester.

Saracens are looking to add Marmion to their squad next season but should that deal fall through a number of English Premiership clubs would sign up the 27-year-old scrumhalf.

“Kieran is very aware that we would like him to stay,” said Connacht coach Andy Friend at the Heineken EPCR launch in Cardiff .”The sort of performance that he puts out there week after week would attract many clubs. So I wouldn’t be surprised if there is four or five other clubs, whether it’s Saracens or whoever else want to talk to him good luck to them.”

Marmion struggled with Joe Schmidt’s decision to take Luke McGrath to the World Cup as the second scrumhalf.

“It’s not just as easy as turning off a tap and saying ‘that didn’t happen, put on the Connacht jersey and off I go again’. Certainly for Kieran it was a really big blow for him, a really big blow, because he missed out on the previous one [in 2015]. He worked really really hard, he got himself to where he believed he was in a good position and the selection didn’t fall his way.

Kieran Marmion has been linked with a switch from Connacht to Saracens. Photograph: Tommy Dickson/Inpho
Kieran Marmion has been linked with a switch from Connacht to Saracens. Photograph: Tommy Dickson/Inpho
“He shared with us that he was frustrated,. He shared with us that he loves living in Galway. He shared that he has had many a fun night at the Sportsground playing for Connacht. So, from our point of view, hopefully that’s the thing that he holds on to the most when he makes the decision.”


Aki strongly considered a switch to Munster or abroad in 2016 but re-signed for Connacht only to express a sense of betrayal when former coach Pat Lam subsequently announced he was joining Bristol. He has since expressed remorse about a social media post.

“That would be nice too [to keep Aki],” said Friend. “We’re in talks about recruitment but for me it’s a lot about retention, making sure you are keeping the right people. We have got a really healthy group of players there. It’s really important we lock down the main ones who have got us to where we currently are and we view them of being a very important part of where we want to build to.”

Aki’s departure from Connacht would more than likely signal the end of his international career as Munster are in advanced talks with Springbok centre Damian de Allende while Leinster are well stocked in midfield players. The 29-year-old’s durability would command a six figure salary in France, England or Japan.

Both Aki and Jack Carty will line up against Leinster in Galway on Friday night but Friend admits the province are struggling to cope with injuries.

“We have picked up two big injuries in the last couple of weeks. One to Quinn Roux with his pec and one with Gavin Thornbury with his elbow. Both of those men had been playing great rugby. Prior to that we had Paddy McAllister with a knee injury. We have already used 35 players in our opening five games. I think there is a belief and a view that Connacht are just swimming through these first five games.

“We used 50 players last year.

“Gavin has just had surgery on that elbow so we are probably looking at into the new year for him coming back. Yeah, it’s a massive blow. Quinn we’re probably looking at hopefully two or three weeks.”

Brilliant news- Jarrad commits for two more years.

Good news:

Connacht Rugby are delighted to announce that Tiernan O’Halloran, Sean O’Brien and Tom Farrell have all signed contract extensions with the province taking them up to the end of the 2021/22 season.

The three signings come as a further boost to Connacht as they face Leinster this weekend in the Sportsground and then return to Champions Cup action at home to Montpellier at home on Sunday week.

Any word on a potential medical joker ( I forget the new term they're using)? We'fe definitely light on numbers in the front row.

McAllister and O'Halloran both out till after Christmas apparently.
Hopefully enough cover for Tiernan, not sure about the front row.

So O'Halloran had knee surgery, McAllister surgery or not, is out for a while. But at least "Try scorer Matt Healy was taken off with a back spasm, but is expected to be fully fit."

So
11 Healy
12 Robb
13 Godwin (covering 10)
14 Porsh
15 Fitzg
22 Farrell
23 Niyi

Edited the first post to include the academy squad.

Friends just has told about 50 players involved during a season

I don't have much to change in my list-by-order made in July
To obtain EX-ACT-LY 50 players ready to slot in
(i.e ALL either already senior capped or Irish U20 international selected)

Team 1

Denis Buckley (29)
Dave Heffernan (28)
Finlay Bealham (28)
Ultan Dillane (25)
Gavin Thornbury (25)
Sean O'Brien (24)
Colby Fainga'a (28)
Jarrad Butler (28)
Kieran Marmion (27)
Jack Carty (27)
John Porch (25)
Bundee Aki (28)
Tom Farrell (25)
Stephen Fitzgerald (23)
Tiernan O'Halloran (28)


Team 2

Paddy McAllister (30)
Shane Delahunt (25)
Dominic Robertson-McCoy (25)
Quinn Roux (28)
Joe Maksymiw (23)
Paul Boyle (22)
Eoghan Masterson (26)
Eoin McKeon (28)
Caolin Blade (25)
Kyle Godwin (27)
Matt Healy (30)
Peter Robb (25)
Tom Daly (26)
Niyi Adeolokun (28)
Darragh Leader (26)

Team 3

Matthew Burke (22)
Tom McCartney (33)
Rory Burke (25)
Cormac Daly (21)
Cillian Gallagher (22)
Niall Murray (20)
Sean Masterson (21)
Robin Copeland (31)
Stephen Kerins (23)
Conor Fitzgerald (22)
Peter Sullivan (21)
Dave Horwitz (24)
Sean O'Brien -3.0- (21)
Conor Hayes (20)
Colm De Buitlear (21) (at the end of the season)

Reserves :

Jonny Murphy (27)
Dylan Tierney-Martin (20)
Conor Kenny (23)
Angus Lloyd (26)
Conor Dean (21)

Fitzgerald looks good but I'd like to see a bit more of him before ousting Healy who to be perfectly honest is one of our all time greats.

So it seems Dean is up to the game

I watched Russian game again, and though critics about Horwitz seem harsh, it's true he doesn't look impressive in contact

I'd go with Godwin, I know this is not the favorite hypothesis

10) Godwin
12) Robb/Daly
13) Farrell
11) S.Fitzgerald
14) TOH (covering 15)
15) Leader

22) Horwitz (covering 10/12)
23) Healy