Connacht skipper to earn his 200th PRO12 cap in away clash with Cardiff
CONNACHT captain John Muldoon will mark his 33rd birthday this week by becoming the first player to break the 200-cap barrier in the PRO12 when the Portumna native leads out the league leaders in their clash against Cardiff Blues at Arms Park this evening (7:05pm).
Muldoon, who turned 33 on Monday, has been named in the back row alongside Academy flanker James Connolly with the returning Eoin McKeon handed the No. 8 jersey. Lauding Muldoon’s achievement, head coach Pat Lam described his captain as a “warrior”.
Lam has made eight personnel changes from Connacht’s recent victory over Munster – many of them enforced through injury – for this evening’s PRO 12 fixture. Darragh Leader comes in on the right wing for his 50th Connacht cap as Tiernan O’Halloran, a try scorer against Munster, is redeployed to full-back.
Jack Carty and Ian Porter have been named at out-half and scrum-half respectively while there is a new front row in for this one in Ronan Loughney, Dave Heffernan and Rodney Ah You. Quinn Roux returns from injury to team up with Aly Muldowney in the second row.
"With the short turn around and following a very physical game against Munster, we obviously see some changes in the side this week,” outlined Lam. “While we lost four more guys to injury in the last game, we also have players coming back into contention. And with competition as high as ever, it makes our job for selection that bit more difficult but that's what we want as coaches.”
The province’s 18-12 victory – compliments of tries from Tiernan O’Halloran and Bundee Aki – over the former two-time Heineken Cup champions cemented Connacht’s place at the top of the PRO12 table on 32 points – ahead of Scarlets on 30 points and Irish rivals Munster and Leinster on 28 points apiece.
Unfortunately, it did come at a price with international Robbie Henshaw breaking his hand in the last play of the game. Henshaw, who used his power to great effect in setting up Bundee Aki for the match-winning try, had surgery on his left hand on Monday morning in Santry.
It is understood the injury will sideline the talented Athlone man for up to six weeks. Added to this, loosehead prop Denis Buckley and back row forward Eoghan Masterson sustained a high ankle sprain and fractured thumb respectively in the game. Both will be out for up to three weeks.
The trio join an already heaving injury list which was further compounded by the news this week confirming that flanker Nepia Fox Matamua did rupture his ACL in the recent Cup win over Brive. Surgery has been scheduled for January with six months of rehabilitation to follow.
For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.