International Bundee Aki is expected to make his return to Connacht duty for their URC meeting with Scarlets in Wales on Friday night (7.35pm ) with head coach Pete Wilkins is relying on the Ireland centre to be the “role model” in producing a vital win in Parc Y Scarlets.
After their superb 36-30 victory over Hollywoodbet Sharks at Dexcom Stadium, Connacht will be determined to add another victory to continue their assault on the URC table. Currently in third position - thanks to that win, and four bonus points - Connacht have momentum.
However, a trip to Wales is never an easy fixture, and more so with the Scarlets having yet to post a win. That will make them all the more dangerous - thus head coach Pete Wilkins wants his charges to maintain their scoring prowess with both backs and forwards applying pressure. “I think that variety of scoring options is really important for us,” he says. Showing growth, he says it is about creating more chances. “We showed last season we were one of the better teams in converting opportunities once we get into that pick and drive game. But it was about trying to create more opportunities at that end of the field. When the line-outs function well, when the kicking game is functioning well, that gives us the chance to get in there and show what we can do. So that variety was important.”
Wilkins is looking to push his team to not only score points, but also be “unpredictable”. “In that sense, all the best teams have that balance,” he says. However, having “risen to the challenge” in rounds one and two, Wilkins says Friday night is “so important” to add a third. “Given the emotional roller coaster that has been historically a bit of an Achilles’ Heel for us, it will be a brilliant test of that. The key for this game will be the energy and intensity we bring to our performance. And Bundi is certainly the man who role models that for ourselves and for Ireland. It will be really important - a Friday night game away from home in west Wales.”
Aki, he says, is “incredibly important” for his qualifies as an attacker, defender and organiser in what Wilkins describes as a venue “not for the faint-hearted”. “It's not somewhere you can go and be 60 or 70 per cent intensity. So I think in terms of that - the talismanic effect that Bundee has on the group - the energy, the edge he brings not just in his own game, but to the 14 or the 22 other guys around him, that'll be very important to us.”
However, Connacht will be missing new recruit Josh Ioane for this weekend’s meeting with Scarlets, having suffered a head knock in the victory over Hollywoodbets Sharks. The New Zealander, who made his debut last weekend and played a pivotal role in that late five-try win, is undergoing return-to-play protocols. However Galway’s Cathal Forde, who stepped into the role, is available, with the experienced Jack Carty also ready to start. Wilkins says Forde produced his “most assured” display in the No 10 shirt. “I was really pleased, and I think he played a hugely important part, and in the way we were able to turn the game around, he did well enough. It's definitely in the conversation this week,” says Wilkins. “We’ve obviously used Forde in the past to cover 10, and he has filled in there, either off the bench or when there's been injuries during the game. But I think this was the most assured he looked, and in terms of how he controlled the game.”
However, he says, Carty is an experienced and proven campaigner, and “also someone who's been training unbelievably well for the last few weeks in the response to Josh’s form”. “Jack's still incredibly important for us. He will be this season. And you know, Josh, not being available, provides a good opportunity for Jack as much as anyone, and other players, banging on the door as well.” Also on the injury list is prop Sam Illo, Shane Bolton, Shamus Hurley-Langton, and Jordan Duggan, while Joe Joyce has returned to training and is a “wait and see” prospect. “He [Joyce] is back training, training fully today, which was encouraging. I think medically, he'll be available by the end of the week. It's just how early we want to make a call in terms of including him or not. So he's in the mix, but it might be a wait and see with him.”
