Connacht align forces for fierce forward battle

EUROPEAN CHALLENGE CUP/First round, first leg preview: Connacht coach Michael Bradley opted this week to go with brawn ahead of finesse as Connacht travelled to the south of France for a muscle-flexing session with the scrappers of Narbonne.

There will be no outside back on the bench as Connacht opt for revamping the front or back row, or both, in the final quarter. It was done out of necessity.

The forward game is alive and well at Racing Club Narbonne. Led by Jean-Marie Bisaro, their pack boasts such dogs of war as Gareth Llewellyn and Franck Tournaire. After a poor start to their season they have won three from four and now lie 12th in their domestic league.

Connacht overpowered these same opponents at the Parc des Sports et de L'Amitie last year, 27-18, and the foreboding of a possible backlash is hard to avoid.

"We are under no illusions about the task ahead," says Bradley. "It's a horrible draw, but we do travel with confidence in our own ability. We know Narbonne are a big, physical side and they are better than they were last year, so we expect them to try to dominate up front with a strong maul, while they are also good on the counter-attack."

Connacht have shown this season they too enjoy the battle up front. While certain areas of their game have creaked, their maul has been consistently good.

The only absentees are winger Conor McPhilips and number eight John O'Sullivan. Michael Swift comes into a rejigged back row. There are six Challenge Cup debutants, two, significantly, in the front row, but the likes of John Muldoon, James Downey and Paul Warwick do not scare easily so they should stay competitive ahead of next Saturday's return leg at the Sportsground.

CONNACHT: M McHugh; M Mostyn, D Yapp, J Downey, T Robinson; P Warwick, C O'Loughlin; R Hogan, B Jackman, S Knoop, C Short, A Farley (capt), M Swift, M Lacey, J Muldoon. Replacements: J Fogarty, D McFarland, P Bracken, M Carroll, P Neville, C Keane, E Elwood.

Narbonne v Connacht, Parc des Sports et de L'Amitie, Today, 6.30 Irish time