Connacht suffered their first defeat of the season in a narrow three-point loss to Edinburgh at the weekend. After three wins in their opening three games Connacht sit fifth in the table, one point off the leaders Bulls who they face next weekend.
This weekend, they are in Durban to face the Sharks who are searching for their first win of the season having lost their opening four games including a 12-10 defeat away to Zebre on Friday.
In previous meetings in the URC against Sharks, Connacht have won one and lost one, but they will be hoping to get their challenge back on track this weekend after the disappointment of Edinburgh.
This evening the squad flew to Durban where they will be based for the majority of the two weeks, with their opening game against the Sharks this Saturday at 3pm Irish time.
They then fly to Pretoria ahead of their clash with the Bulls at the same time on Saturday November 25. Both games will be broadcast live on RTÉ.
While Ireland loosehead prop Finlay Bealham has made the cut, inside centre Aki and outside back Mack Hansen were both declared unavailable for selection.
Aki played in all but one of Ireland’s World Cup games, scoring five tries and earning a nomination for World Player of the Year.
According to reports, Aki is currently struggling with a hamstring issue, while Hansen has an ankle injury.
Others unavailable for selection are Jack Aungier, Shayne Bolton, Santiago Cordero, Shane Jennings, Oisin McCormack and Gavin Thornbury.
Connacht squad:
Forwards: Finlay Bealham, Denis Buckley, Peter Dooley, Oisín Dowling, Dave Heffernan, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Sam Illo, Sean Jansen, Joe Joyce, Tadgh McElroy, Darragh Murray, Niall Murray, Conor Oliver, Sean O’Brien, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, Cian Prendergast, Dylan Tierney-Martin
Backs: Caolin Blade, Jack Carty, Tom Farrell, Cathal Forde, JJ Hanrahan, David Hawkshaw, Diarmuid Kilgallen, Tiernan O’Halloran, John Porch, Byron Ralston, Colm Reilly, Andrew Smith
