Ultan Dillane returns for Connacht’s trip to Scarlets

Connacht head coach Pat Lam has made just one change to his side to face league leaders Scarlets in Wales on Sunday - second row Ultan Dillane, fresh from his first inclusion with the Ireland training squad on Sunday, rotates with Aly Muldowney.

Sunday’s clash will make it eight appearances and six starts this season for 22-year-old Dillane, having made his senior debut while still in the Academy last term.

Jack Carty and Kieran Marmion are retained at half back while Niyi Adeolokun, try scorer for Connacht at Parc y Scarlets last season, starts on the right wing with Matt Healy on the left.

Up front, John Muldoon, who this week signed up for his fourteenth season at the province, will captain the side. Jake Heenan, who made his season debut last week after nearly 10 months on the sidelines, will start again at openside flanker. The bench remains unchanged with the inclusion of Muldowney.

Commenting on the team selection and the upcoming game, Pat Lam said he is expecting an improvement from the defeat to Leinster last weekend.

“While we were disappointed with the outcome last week against Leinster, there were a lot of positives we could take from the performance. We travel with the same squad to take on a strong Scarlets side on their home pitch this weekend. There are certain aspects of our game that we are looking to improve from last week. With a solid week’s training under our belt, we go with confidence knowing that if we add clinical execution to the work ethic already shown, we’ll have every chance of getting the points on offer.”

Connacht: Tiernan O’Halloran; Niyi Adeolokun, Bundee Aki, Craig Ronaldson, Matt Healy; Jack Carty, Kieran Marmion; Finlay Bealham, Tom McCartney, Nathan White; Ultan Dillane, Andrew Browne; John Muldoon (captain), Jake Heenan, Eoghan Masterson.

Replacements: Dave Heffernan, Ronan Loughney, Rodney Ah You, Aly Muldowney, Sean O’Brien, Ian Porter, AJ MacGinty, Rory Parata.