Connacht boosted by international returnees

Colin Newboult

Colm Reilly and Conor Kenny have been handed their first Connacht starts after they were named in the starting XV to face Scarlets at The Sportsground.

Ballinasloe native Reilly made his debut off the bench in Connacht’s last outing – a bonus-point win in Edinburgh – and he’s now been handed the number nine jersey for the first time with the returning Jack Carty partnering him at out-half.

Kieran Marmion has been released from international duty to be named among the replacements.

First start at tighthead

Kenny, meanwhile, has made 7 appearances as a replacement since making his debut at the start of last season. The tighthead prop starts for the first time alongside Shane Delahunt and Paddy McAllister, who also enjoys his first start of the campaign.

Kenny is another product of the Connacht grassroots system, having played for Buccaneers RFC and Garbally College where he won a Connacht Schools Cup.

Ultan Dillane returns from Ireland camp to start in the second-row alongside Gavin Thornbury, while the back-row is unchanged from the Edinburgh win, with Jarrad Butler captaining the side from openside flanker, Paul Boyle starting on the opposite flank and Abraham Papali’i at number eight.

The centres consist of Tom Daly and Sammy Arnold, while in the back three the in-form duo of winger Alex Wootton and full-back John Porch keep their place in the side. Connacht’s record try-scorer Matt Healy makes his first start of the season on the opposite wing.

Meanwhile, Scarlets will take on Connacht in Galway on Saturday showing three changes from the side that beat Zebre in the PRO14.

Behind the scrum, fly-half Dan Jones is restored to the number 10 jersey in place of Angus O’Brien, who is named among the replacements.

The other changes come in the pack with Tonga international second-row Sam Lousi returning to the starting line-up following suspension and Ed Kennedy replacing Uzair Cassiem at blindside flanker.

On the bench, hooker Daf Hughes is set for his first taste of rugby since suffering a serious knee injury in January, while prop Phil Price is back in the match-day squad after sitting out the Zebre match.

The teams:

Connacht: 15 John Porch, 14 Alex Wootton, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Tom Daly, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Colm Reilly, 8 Abraham Papali’i, 7 Jarrad Butler (c), 6 Paul Boyle, 5 Gavin Thornbury, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Conor Kenny, 2 Shane Delahunt, 1 Paddy McAllister
Replacements: 16 Jonny Murphy, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Eoghan Masterson, 20 Conor Oliver, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Tom Farrell, 23 Peter Sullivan

Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Ryan Conbeer, 13 Steff Hughes (c), 12 Paul Asquith, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Dane Blacker, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Ed Kennedy, 5 Morgan Jones, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Taylor Davies, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Phil Price, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Danny Drake, 20 Uzair Cassiem, 21 Will Homer, 22 Angus O’Brien, 23 Tyler Morgan

Date: Saturday, November 14
Venue: Sportsground
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Peter Martin (Ireland)
TMO: Ollie Hodges (Ireland)

Connacht