They take on Leicester on Saturday.
Eoghan Masterson will take his place at blindside flanker as Connacht look to advance to the quarter-finals of the Heineken Challenge Cup.
They travel to Welford Road to take on Leicester at 8 o'clock on Saturday evening.
Athlone's Jack Carty continues his partnership with Kieran Marmion at half-back.
Head Coach Andy Friend told Connacht Rugby:
“We had difficult decisions to make across the park with our starting XV. It’s a testament to our squad that we’ve got a really strong bench while others will miss out entirely, and that’s what you want going into knock-out European rugby.
“It’s no secret that the Connacht record in Europe needs to improve, but this is a group of players that know how to break hoodoos on the road. Leicester Tigers in Welford Road is one of the great challenges in European rugby and I have full confidence in the squad to get the win and really put us in the mix for silverware at the end of the season”.
Starting XV:
15. John Porch
14. Alex Wootton
13. Sean O’Brien
12. Tom Daly
11. Matt Healy
10. Jack Carty
9. Kieran Marmion
1. Denis Buckley
2. Dave Heffernan
3. Finlay Bealham
4. Ultan Dillane
5. Gavin Thornbury
6. Eoghan Masterson
7. Conor Oliver
8. Paul Boyle
Replacements:
16. Shane Delahunt
17. Jordan Duggan
18. Dominic Robertson-McCoy
19. Oisin Dowling
20. Abraham Papali’i
21. Caolin Blade
22. Conor Fitzgerald
23. Peter Sullivan
๐ข ๐๐๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐พ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) April 2, 2021
Introducing your Connacht squad for tomorrow's huge @ERChallengeCup R16 meeting with @LeicesterTigers ๐
Full story: https://t.co/QXI8zXgc13
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