Connacht hoping to pick up where they left off

CONNACHT return to action after a five week break when they bid to register a rare away win – and make it four victories from five competitive outings – against the Cardiff Blues at the new Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday (3pm).

This showdown with the team who are immediately above them at the foot of the table affords Connacht a chance to lift themselves off the basement and marks captain John Muldoon’s 100th game in the Magners League.

For their part, the Blues will hope to avenge their 18-16 defeat at the Sportsground in September. The Welsh club will have a host of internationals to call upon, but they may appear vulnerable as three of their leadings players, Leigh Halfpenny, Jamie Roberts, and Andy Powell are away on duty with the Barbarians this weekend.

Even without those three, there will be no less than seven members of the Welsh squad on show for Dai Young’s team, including Tom Shanklin, Gareth Cooper, Tom James, Bradley Davies, Martyn Williams, Sam Warburton, and Gethin Jenkins.

As if that line-up is not strong enough, centre Shanklin will face strong competition for a starting place from New Zealand star Casey Laulala, who arrived from Canterbury this week.

“We will be sending our very best team to Cardiff,” said Muldoon, who celebrated his birthday this week. “We know the Blues will be still reeling after their defeat at the Sportsground in September. But we firmly believe that on our day we can beat anyone.”

Connacht finished the last sequence of matches on a high thanks to a 16-10 win over the Scarlets on October 30. The manner of that win should give Michael Bradley’s men some encouragement for a tricky assignment on Sunday, even though the five week break may have disrupted Connacht’s momentum.

Their pack produced a commanding display against the Scarlets, with John Muldoon, Johnny O’Connor, and Mike McComish superb in the back row, while the half-back pairing of Frank Murphy and Ian Keatley were in peak form.

That victory, following a superb European Challenge Cup victory in Montpellier, helped to lift some of the gloom around the Sportsground after Bradley’s boys collapsed against Ulster on September 18, a night in which they were expected to build on the tense home win over the Blues.

No doubt Cardiff are still reeling from that particular defeat, in which former All-Black Ben Blair almost broke the home side’s hearts only to miss a late penalty which would have given the Blues an undeserved win.

Connacht have not won in six visits to Cardiff and their appalling 58-0 defeat there last season should ensure that the travelling party are fully focused on the job in hand.

Absent from the squad this weekend are Keith Matthews, Jamie Hagan, Andrew Browne, and Troy Nathan, but Bradley is likely to keep faith with the pack who bullied Scarlets into submission (and overcame two sin-binnings) five weeks ago.

Cardiff have only won one of their last four Magners League matches, a 20-12 home success against the Ospreys on October 24, and their last outing was a 31-3 reversal to Australia in a ‘friendly’ last week – although seven of their players were away on international duty for that encounter.

The Blues also learned this week that former Welsh international Rhys Williams has been forced to retire due to a serious knee injury.