Connacht make eight changes for trip to Cardiff

Connacht head coach Pat Lam has made eight personnel changes and one positional switch from the side that won at Thomond Park last weekend.

Darragh Leader comes on to the right wing to face the Cardiff Blues away tomorrow night while Tiernan O'Halloran shifts to fullback.

Jack Carty is named at number 10 and scrum half Ian Porter earns his first PRO12 start of the season.

An all-new front row features Ronan Loughney, Dave Heffernan and Rodney Ah You while Quinn Roux returns from injury to partner Aly Muldowney in the second row.

Captain John Muldoon becomes the first player to break the 200-cap barrier in the PRO12 when he leads the side out in the Welsh capital tomorrow night.

The Galway man, who turned 33 on Monday, is named in the back row with Academy flanker James Connolly and the returning number eight Eoin McKeon.

"We have another big game on the road again this week,” Lam said. “Cardiff has been a difficult fixture for us the past few seasons and they are very tough to beat at home.

"We know we will have to be at our best and fully focused as a team to get the four points on offer in another vital PRO12 game, before attention switches to Europe.

"With the short turn around and following a very physical game against Munster, we obviously see some changes in the side this week. While we lost four more guys to injury in the last game, we also have players coming back into contention."

The province also confirmed that AJ MacGinty suffered a meniscal tear to his knee during the game against Munster. He is facing 3 - 4 weeks of recovery after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on Thursday.

Cardiff Blues v Connacht at BT Sports Cardiff Arms Park on Friday December 4 - kick-off 7.05pm

Connacht team: 15. Tiernan O'Halloran, 14. Darragh Leader, 13. Bundee Aki, 12. Craig Ronaldson, 11. Matt Healy, 10. Jack Carty, 9. Ian Porter; 1. Ronan Loughney, 2. Dave Heffernan, 3. Rodney Ah You, 4. Quinn Roux, 5. Aly Muldowney, 6. John Muldoon - capt., 7. James Connolly, 8. Eoin McKeon

Replacements: 16. Jason Harris-Wright, 17. Conan O'Donnell, 18. Finlay Bealham,

19. George Naoupu, 20. Sean O'Brien, 21. Kieran Marmion, 22 Peter Robb, 23 Rory Parata.