Connacht bring in Bundee Aki and four others for Dragons trip

Newport Gwent Dragons v Connacht, Rodney Parade (7.15)

Connacht coach Pat Lam has made fine changes to the side that lost to Leinster as the western province bid to get back to winning ways. Bundee Aki, Stacey Ili and Caolin Blade come into the backline while hooker Shane Delahunt and flanker Eoin McKeon are restored to the pack.

Lam has rotated a number of players based on recent game minutes but retains a strong spine to the side. Blade has been generally excellent this season, stepping up when required and this provides another opportunity in the absence of Kieran Marmion, the latter away with Ireland in Chicago.

It’s interesting that former Gonzaga schoolboy, Conor McKeon has converted from outhalf to scrumhalf and gets to sit on the bench for the first time in his new vocation. Several years ago Leinster tried the same rebranding with flanker Niall Ronan.

Academy prop Saba Meunargia has recovered from injury to be included among the replacements. If called upon, the 22-year-old will make his first Pro12 appearance, having featured twice in the European Challenge Cup.

“It’s always tough for us going over to Rodney Parade. Even when we’ve been successful there, they were always hard fought wins. Dragons, under Kingsley Jones, have changed their mind set in terms of how they like to play the game and they certainly use the ball a lot more.

“Our mental preparation is vital, particularly in another short week where we are on the road for the third week in a row.”

The two teams are not massively impacted by international call-ups so it threatens to be a proper contest. Connacht will be determined to atone for the disappointment of the RDS and even though Rodney Parade is not the most hospitable of venues they should be good enough to manage that.

Dragons: T Prydie, P Howard, S Beard, J Dixon, A Hewitt, A O'Brien, S Pretorius; P Price, T Rhys Thomas, B Harris; N Crosswell, R Landman; L Evans (capt), O Griffiths, E Jackson. Replacements: R Buckley, S Hobbs, L Fairbrother, M Screech, N Cudd, T Knoyle, G Rhys Jones, A Warren.

Connacht: T O'Halloran; N Adeolokun, B Aki, P Robb, S Ili; J Carty, C Blade; JP Cooney, S Delahunt, C Carey; Q Roux, A Browne; E McKeon, J Heenan, J Muldoon (capt). Replacements: D Heffernan, S Meunargia, D Robertson-McCoy, J Cannon, J Connolly, C McKeon, S O'Leary, C Kelleher.

Referee: G Clancy (Ireland)