Two Mayo men named in Connacht squad for big European game

TWO Mayo men will be in the green of Connacht when the province begin their European Challenge Cup campaign on Sunday against Ospreys in Wales in a match where Irish and Lions star Bundee Aki will captain the side.

The match kicks off at 3.15pm on Sunday and head coach Stuart Lancaster has named Ballina duo Dave Heffernan and Harry West in the squad for the encounter which could have a huge bearing on the western province's season.

Heffernan will win his 224th Connacht cap in the middle of the front row in Brewery Field, Bridgend while West will be hoping to win his second cap off the bench. 

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Two-time British and Irish Lion Aki has been handed the captaincy, and is included in a starting 15 that shows nine changes from the side that beat the Sharks last weekend.

Partnering Aki in the centre is Sam Gilbert who makes his full Connacht debut, having come off the bench against the Sharks. The back three sees Shane Jennings make his first appearance of the season on the wing, with Finn Treacy on the opposite side and the in-form Seán Naughton continuing at full-back.

In the forwards, the vastly experienced front row of Denis Buckley, Heffernan and Finlay Bealham start together for the first time in the campaign, while there’s a new-look second row pairing of Joe Joyce and David O’Connor. There’s just the one change in the back row, with Sean O’Brien coming in on the openside, while Josh Murphy and Sean Jansen are retained.

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Head coach Stuart Lancaster says: “We enter the Challenge Cup with strong ambitions of winning it, and we also want to use these next two weeks to give some players an opportunity to impress. We’ve a good mix of youth and experience for Sunday, with the likes of Bundee as captain and plenty of other centurions especially in the front row.”