Connacht continue their European campaign intent on keeping their winning form intact when they host French outfit Brive at the Sportsground on Saturday (5.30pm ).
It is all about building momentum for Andy Friend's side in a bid to qualify for the cup's knock-out stages in Europe and a top eight Champions Cup qualification spot in the United Rugby Championship.
Head coach Pete Wilkins says the team selected this weekend will continue to reflect the coaching philosophy of rotation and giving opportunities to players.
"The two teams we picked for the early games of the Challenge Cup reflected we are not just rotating bodies to freshen up, but also giving opportunities to guys who we think deserve it, and teams that we firmly believe can win those games well.
"The next two weeks will be no different." he says.
"There are guys who are almost demanding selection because they are training so well and haven't had a lot of minutes this season, and they will be sprinkled in there, but at the same time, there are consistent performers for us. So not only do we want to get the benefit of their performances, but we don't want to lose match sharpness by standing them down for two weeks."
Connacht's target is to win every game in their European competition pool.
"It's not a stocking filler for us. The momentum we got out of those two early games in the Challenge Cup were important in the context of our season, and the stage where we are at. Having beaten the Sharks, it is important we get two really good performances and hopefully two good wins over the next two weeks to make sure we hit the Lions game at the end of this block with massive momentum as well."
Connacht currently sit in fourth place in pool A with nine points, behind Cardiff and Toulon on full points. Bristol and Glasgow also share nine points, while Saturday's opponents have one point and next week's opposition, Newcastle, are currently last in the the pool.
It gives Friend's side a real opportunity to realise the twin ambitions of making the play-offs, while also producing a run of URC wins in their bid for Champions Cup qualification.
They will be missing some key players, although Jarrad Butler is available having recovered from a finger injury. Ruled out this week are Adam Byrne until mid January (calf ) and Matthew Burke till the end of January (neck ), while Paul Boyle (shoulder ) and Oisin Dowling (knee ) are not expected to return to play till mid February. The latest player on the list is David Hawkshaw, whose ankle injury is expected to keep him sidelined till mid to late February. Gavin Thornbury (knee ) and Sean Masterson remain long term.
Connacht go into the game having produced a 24-12 bonus-point victory over South African visitors Cell C Sharks at the Galway Sportsground on a night of lashing wind and rain. And with six URC games remaining, Andy Friend says Connacht just need to keep winning. “We know we've got to keep getting points, and that's all within our control.”
The Sharks were missing front-liners, and it helped Connacht control most of the game with a solid set piece when necessary, if frustratingly error-ridden. However, Connacht delivered two quick-fire tries, the first involved a well-worked build up with John Porch, Shane Delahunt, man of the match Cathal Forde, and Kieran Marmion all involved before Conor Oliver scored in the 20th minutes from a Dowling line-out and maul. Three minutes later, Tom Farrell raced onto a Mack Hansen chip and offloaded to Forde who grabbed the second - Carty converting for a 12-0 lead.
By half-time, Farrell found Tiernan O’Halloran who ran in from the 22 to crown a solid opening half, with Carty’s conversion ensuring a 19-0 lead, and the fourth try came from man of the match Forde who blocked an attempted clearance from outhalf Nevaldo Fluers and scored.
Connacht: T O’Halloran; J Porch, T Farrell, C Forde, M Hansen; J Carty, K Marmion; D Buckley, S Delahunt, F Bealham; O Dowling, D Murray; J Murphy, C Oliver, S Hurley-Langton. Replacements: C Prendergast for Dowling (23m ), D Tierney-Martin for S Hurley-Langton(46m-53m ), S Delahunt for Hurley-Langton (53m ), J Duggan for Buckley, D Robertson-McCoy for Bealham, L Fifita for Hurley-Langton (all 61m ), B Ralston for Farrell (64m ), C Fitzgerald for O’Halloran ( 66m ), C Blade for Marmion (71m ).
Cell C Sharks: A Volmink; Y Penxe, M Koster, R Janse van Rensburgh, M Pogieter; N Fleurs, C Wright; N Mchunu, F Mbatha, C Sadie; T Bholi, R Hugo (capt ); J Venter, H Venter, C Gumede. Replacements: L Cronje for Volmink (HT ), K van Vuuren for Mbatha and K Mchunu for Sadie (both 49m ), G Williams for E Wright (50m ), D Bleuler for K Mchunu (58m ), E Hooker for Koster and O Barnard for Bholi (both 78m ). Referee: Adam Jones (WRU ).
