Ahead of the Guinness PRO12 Round 2 clash with Glasgow Warriors, Connacht head coach Pat Lam has made one change to his side that defeated the Dragons in Round 1.
Scrumhalf John Cooney will start in the number 9 shirt against the defending champions while Kieran Marmion, who was absent from training sessions this week while he recovered from a minor hip injury, is named on the bench.
Up front, captain John Muldoon will line out for his 250th game with his home province and is joined in the back row with the first try scorer of the season Nepia Fox-Matamua and Academy graduate Eoghan Masterson.
Ultan Dillane comes on to the bench to replace the injured Eoin McKeon while Ben Marshall will now cover the back row as well as lock.
Commenting on the team selection and the upcoming game, Lam said:
"We understand the enormity of the challenge we have before us against a well-coached Glasgow side stacked full of quality players. We have yet to win at Scotstoun and we're playing the defending champions who will be fired up after last week's defeat.
"But our focus for the growth of our young squad is to compete and perform in challenges like this.
"We have trained well this week and we know only performing as a collective will give us a chance."
Connacht 15 - 9: Tiernan O'Halloran, Danie Poolman, Rory Parata, Bundee Aki, Matt Healy, Jack Carty, John Cooney
1 - 8: Denis Buckley, Tom McCartney, Rodney Ah You, Quinn Roux, Andrew Browne, John Muldoon (captain), Nepia Fox-Matamua, Eoghan Masterson
Replacements: Dave Heffernan, JP Cooney, Finlay Bealham, Ultan Dillane, Ben Marshall, Kieran Marmion, Craig Ronaldson, Fionn Carr
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