Connacht Rugby's Andy Friend says Friday night's match versus The Ospreys will be a special one for Dave Heffernan and Ballina RFC as our man looks to make his 150th appearance for the province.
Dave is a hugely inspirational figure for club and province and to wear the green 150 times will be a massive milestone when he runs our for Connacht's first game in five weeks.
The matchday squad shows four changes to the starting XV that impressively saw off Ulster at the Aviva Stadium last month.
Summer signing Shayne Bolton will make his Connacht debut – the 20-year old is named at outside centre where he forms a partnership with Sammy Arnold. There’s two further changes in the back three with Alex Wootton making his first appearance of the season on the wing, and Oran McNulty handed his first Connacht start at full-back. The in-form Mack Hansen starts on the opposite wing, while Kieran Marmion and captain Jack Carty continue at 9 and 10 respectively.

The tight five is changed with a front row of Matthew Burke, Heffernan and Finlay Bealham, while there’s a second row pairing of Niall Murray and Ultan Dillane, and the final change is in the back row where Jarrad Butler starts at blindside flanker, opposite Conor Oliver and Paul Boyle completing the side from number 8.

Among those on the bench is Peter Robb who could make his first appearance since February if called upon.

Head Coach Andy Friend says:

“Everyone had a deserved few days off after the Aviva game and we’ve since spent the last few weeks fully focussed on getting a win tomorrow night. Ospreys have made a really good start to their season and they’re always difficult to play against, so everyone knows we have to push on from our interpro performances to get the win we need.

Shayne Bolton has settled in really well since arriving from South Africa so he’s deserving of a start, and it’s a special game for Dave Heffernan and Ballina RFC on the day of his 150th appearance.”