Elwood is back to lead Connacht

ERIC ELWOOD is back to lead the Connacht challenge for a place in the Celtic Cup final at the Sportsground, Galway, tomorrow (2.p.m.), but there is no place for captain Tim Allnutt.

Connacht take on Edinburgh and the team shows three changes in personnel from that which brought Ulster’s winning league run to an end last weekend. Elwood, Bernard Jackman and Fabian Boiroux all passed fitness tests, so coach Michael Bradley has no new injury problems.

Though fit, Boiroux has to be happy with a place on the bench with Adrian Clarke coming in at tight head prop.

In the second row Damian Browne starts with Mike McCarthy on the bench. In the backs, David Hewitt comes in at full back. Mark McHugh, hero of the day against Ulster with seven kicks from as many attempts, moves to the centre and captain Allnutt has been demoted to the bench. Hooker Jackman takes over as captain for this game.

In the meantime, Ulster’s wallaby wizard, Ryan Constable, is hoping he can weave another bit of magic tomorrow night when his side meet Glasgow in the semi-final of the Celtic Cup (Hughenden, 7.30pm).

Last year he was the difference between Ulster going out at the quarter-final stage of the Celtic League or progressing to the semi-finals.

Constable, whose two tries last Saturday in the defeat against Connacht, took him level top of the Celtic Rugby’s top try scorer table, said he had fond memories of Glasgow.

“Ulster want to make it third time lucky in the sense of reaching a final.”

Glasgow’s bid for a Celtic Cup final place has been strengthened by the return of World Cup hero Cammy Mather. He played a big role in Scotland’s most impressive World Cup performance in the quarter-final defeat by Australia.

Mather’s return, with Andrew Wilson stepping down, is one of four changes from the team who started the Celtic League match that Glasgow lost to Celtic Warriors by 23-29 at Bridgend last Friday.

Mather’s fellow Scotland cap, Matt Proudfoot, who has had two weeks out with a leg injury, also resumes. So do Graeme Morrison, the Scotland Under-21 centre, who was rested last week, and Daniel Parks, the stand-off who played at Bridgend as a second-half replacement.

GLASGOW: R Kerr; D Millard, G Maclure, G Morrison, S Lamont; D Parks, S Pinder; M Proudfoot, S Lawson, L Harrison, A Hall, N Ross, C Mather (capt), D Macfadyen, P Dearlove. Replacements: S Gunn, A Kelly, J Beardshaw, R Reid, M McMillan, C Howarth, J Steel.

ULSTER: B Cunningham; J Topping, R Constable, P Steinmetz, T Howe; A Larkin, K Campbell; B Young, M Sexton, R Moore, M Mustchin, M McCullough, A Ward (capt), N Best, T McWhirter. Replacements: P Shields, R Frost, R Wilson, S Best, S Stewart, S Young, N Doak.

Ref: Hugh Watkins (Wales).

CONNACHT (v Edinburgh): D. Hewitt, M. Mostyn, D. Yapp, M. McHugh, C. McPhillips, E. Elwood, M. Walls, R. Hogan, B. Jackman (captain), A. Clarke, D. Browne, A. Farley, M. Swift, J. O'Sullivan, P. Neville. Replacements: J. Fogarty, F. Boiroux, M. McCarthy, T. Carter, C. O’Loughlin, T. Allnutt, W. Munn.