Not hopeful. It's the strongest side we have but injuries/flu/away-form tells me a losing bonus point would be a success for us.

Examiner.ie wrote: Blow for Connacht as McSharry out for season
Thursday, April 11, 2013

Promising centre Dave McSharry is in a race against time to be fit for Ireland’s summer tour in June.

By Declan Rooney

The 23-year-old is due to have surgery on a troublesome groin injury and looks set to miss all four of Connacht’s remaining games in the RaboDirect PRO12.

McSharry was capped for Ireland Wolfhounds against England in January and was drafted in by Declan Kidney to the extended Irish training squad on a number of occasions.

The Dubliner is poised to be included in the Irish squad to tour to the United States and Canada, or on an emerging squad which will travel to Georgia.

He is scheduled to undergo surgery next week to solve an ongoing Osteitis pubis problem, which has seen him absent since the middle of January.

“Dave is seeing a specialist next week. He is going to have to require surgery so we are just waiting on that,” said outgoing Connacht coach Eric Elwood.

“We have made the call early in the year as regards not trying to force him for the remainder of the year so he is going in to have his groins done,” continued Elwood, who has been showing incoming coach Pat Lam the ropes at the Sportsground this week.

McSharry is not the only injury concern for the province though, as Denis Buckley and Willie Faloon – both also tipped for summer tours – look certain for lengthy spells on the sideline.

Buckley had a scan on an injury he picked up in training and according to a club statement, “will be out for a while with a knee medial ligament injury” while Faloon is seeing a specialist next Monday regarding an ankle ligaments problem.

And with a bout of flu ravaging his squad and further injury concerns about Johnny O’Connor, Eoghan Grace, Paul O’Donoghue and Jason Harris-Wright, Elwood could be forced to bring an understrength squad to Murrayfield to play Edinburgh tomorrow night.

Very decent connacht team, at first I was going to complain about the bench but looking closer there's some decent backs options and considering the forwards that are injured those on the bench are the best possible options. Hard to see a win at the same time given the appalling away record this year. Will be interesting to see how Muldoon goes at seven I could definitely see him ending up there more and more in future.
I don't know anything much about the Edinburgh line out but given the front five selected, especially Flavin, and kearney and naopu there I think it looks like we will be trying to maul as much as possible off the line outs?

sea_point wrote: Is Andrew Browne carrying a knock or something, because I don't get Kearney starting ahead of him at 6. Browner was absolutely outstanding earlier in the season when covering for the loss of Mul & George...

Reports in the indo suggest a large number of the guys are battling flu, Browne might be suffering but needed because we don't have much back row cover otherwise

Edinburgh Rugby team to play Connacht
Murrayfield, Friday 12 April (KO 7.30pm)



15 Greig Tonks

14 Lee Jones

13 Matt Scott
12 Ben Atiga
11 Tim Visser

10 Piers Francis

Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN



1 Allan Jacobsen

2 Ross Ford

3 Geoff Cross

4 Grant Gilchrist

5 Sean Cox

6 Stuart McInally

7 Hamish Watson

8 Netani Talei



Substitutes
:
16 Steve Lawrie

17 Robin Hislop
18 John Yapp

19 Perry Parker
20 Robert McAlpine
21 Sean Kennedy

22 Harry Leonard

23 Tom Brown

Is Andrew Browne carrying a knock or something, because I don't get Kearney starting ahead of him at 6. Browner was absolutely outstanding earlier in the season when covering for the loss of Mul & George...

Swift returns for Edinburgh clash

Connacht Rugby travel to Scotland to take on Edinburgh Rugby at Murrayfield tomorrow night and Head Coach Eric Elwood has named his side.

There is only one change to the starting XV announced to face Benetton Treviso in the last round and that change comes up front with the return from injury of lock Michael Swift. Connacht’s highest capped player who missed out on the previous two games will join Ireland international Mike McCarthy in the second row.

There’s a reshuffle in the back row as Mick Kearney moves to number 6 and John Muldoon, who earns his 195th Connacht cap tomorrow, is named at number 7.

On the bench, props Rodney Ah You and JP Cooney as well as flanker Mata Fifita are included in the forwards’ replacements. All three featured for the Connacht Eagles in last Saturday’s challenge game against Russian side Enisei STM and Ah You and Fifita both touched down for tries.

With the Connacht v Treviso fixture rearranged for April 26th, there are now four games left to play in the RaboDirect PRO12, and therefore a maximum of 20 match points left to play for. And so, the push for a best ever finish in the league will intensify over the final weeks.

Earlier in the week, Head Coach Eric Elwood spoke about the importance of this week’s game:

“Edinburgh is a huge game for us and it is still our intention to better last year’s finish in the league.

“We have Treviso to play away and we’ve two tough games to finish in Ulster and Glasgow who are in the top four. But we still have a hell of a lot to play for in those four games. There are a lot of things still in our control. We are still looking for the betterment and that improvement year on year. And that’s very much a target in our sights. It starts this weekend now in Edinburgh.”

Connacht XV

15. Robbie Henshaw
14. Danie Poolman
13. Eoin Griffin
12. Brian Murphy
11. Gavin Duffy (captain)
10. Dan Parks
9. Kieran Marmion

1. Brett Wilkinson
2. Adrian Flavin
3. Ronan Loughney
4. Michael Swift
5. Mike McCarthy
6. Mick Kearney
7. John Muldoon
8. George Naoupu

Replacements: Ethienne Reynecke, Rodney Ah You, JP Cooney, Andrew Browne, Mata Fifita, Paul O’Donohoe, Miah Nikora, Fetu’u Vainikolo

Unavailable due to injury: Denis Buckley, Willie Faloon, Eoghan Grace, Jason Harris-Wright, Eoin McKeon, Dave McSharry, Frank Murphy, Dave Nolan, Kyle Tonetti, Nathan White.

At Murrayfield, 7.30pm.
Referee: Rhys Thomas (WRU, 1st competition game)
Assistant Referees: Peter Allan, TBC (both SRU)
Citing Commissioner: John Kirk (SRU)

good to see TOH dropped. heard he done very little in the friendly last weekend

Referee: Rhys Thomas (WRU, 1st competition game) ummm, get on the case!

Edinburgh have a very tasty run in and if we want to finish above them, we're going to have to win tomorrow IMO.

Don't know if its a reliable source but twitter.com/furlo has bad news.

#connachtrugby News today is not good. Denis Buckley has Grade 3 medial tear probably out for season; Willie ditto ankle, & Dave Mc groin

Tough game this one, since getting rid of Bradley Edinburgh have dogged out two victories, they'll be looking for 3 in a row here.

Lets see what sort of team we can get out on the pitch. If lads want to change their places in the pecking order now would be a good time to make an impression.