Denis Buckley wary of familiar foes Gloucester

It’s a measure of the strides made by Connacht rugby that Roscommon native Denis Buckley, who debuted nine seasons ago, has played almost as many European games in the Champions Cup as in the secondary competition, the Challenge Cup, in which they have been for most of the professional era.

No team in Europe has played as many matches in the Challenge Cup as Connacht — 126 — but prop Buckley led the way in the development of local talent able to compete in the premier event, the Champions Cup.