Major injury worries for Connacht

MICHAEL BRADLEY has major injury worries for tomorrow night’s Magners League clash with Edinburgh at the Sportsground (6pm).

Connacht will be without George Naoupu, Ray Ofisa, Liam Bibo and Keith Matthews, while four others are on the doubtful list – John Muldoon, Robbie Morris, Niva Ta’auso and Ronan Loughney

Bradley and his second in command Eric Elwood, who takes over the helm at the end of the season, see this game as a huge opportunity for Connacht to push their way up the table and possibly secure a Heineken Cup spot by finishing above Ulster.

So it is a must-win game for the men from the west and Edinburgh won’t be hugely encouraged by the fact that this will be the first of three games against Irish provinces in the four game run-in to the league campaign.

The Scottish side follow this one up with an away tie to the ever improving Newport Gwent Dragons before playing Ulster at home and Leinster in Dublin.

As the competition moves on there is possibly the small matter of points difference to consider in the battle for places in the top four, and in launching their own battle, Connacht could seriously influence what happens at the top.

Munster and Edinburgh share identical records, thanks to eight wins and a points difference of 37, while Glasgow and the Ospreys have seven wins apiece and a points difference of 25 and 35 respectively.

Such small margins aren’t lost on Edinburgh head coach Rob Moffat, who admits that bonus-points and points for and against could be absolutely crucial in the race for the Play-Offs.

Connacht (from): A Browne, F Carr, S Cronin, G Duffy, A Flavin, E Griffin, J Hagan, I Keatley, R Loughney, M McCarthy, M McComish, R Morris, J Muldoon, F Murphy, T Nathan, D Nolan, M Nikora, J O’Connor, C O’Loughlin, M Swift, N Ta’auso, B Tuohy, B Upton, B Wilkinson, A Wynne.