Wilkins knows Connacht need maximum points from next two home games

Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins is fully aware of his side's desperate situation

Connacht coach Pete Wilkins knows that anything less than maximum ten points from their next two home games will leave their lingering URC hopes dead in the water and the recovery needs to start against Cardiff at Dexcom Stadium this Saturday evening (7.35pm).

Four successive league losses have left Connacht floundering third from the bottom of the table going into this round and any chance of a top half finish will be beyond them if they don’t collect all the points in this one and against Benetton in a couple of weeks.

But having picked up only 19 points out of a possible 50 this season, demanding ten in two games will test Connacht, even if five of their record nine Irish players return from the international camp for this one.

Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen and Finlay Bealham have, as expected, been kept in Irish camp but Shayne Bolton, Cathal Forde, Ben Murphy, Jack Aungier and Cian Prendergast start this one, with Caolin Blade the sixth player to be released by Simon Easterby but he’s not involved this week as Murphy starts at scrum-half and Matthew Devine provides cover on the bench.

Promising former Irish U-20 Hugh Gavin returns for his second start after three months out with an ankle injury and while he starts along with another ex-Colaiste Iognaid player on a weekend when the URC honours the schools and clubs which produced them, it’s worth noting that only two other players in this weekend’s squad — Dylan Tierney-Martin who went to St Joseph’s ‘The Bish’ in Galway city and Devine who was educated in Garbally College in Ballinasloe — were educated in the province.

Connacht beat Cardiff 28-19 in the Challenge Cup at the Arms Park last month and will face them again in Galway in April in a knockout match in the competition, but the key thing is to get a first league win since beating the Dragons back in October.

Four Challenge Cup wins have been secured since then but there have been four league losses to the Bulls, Leinster, Ulster and Glasgow and Wilkins knows they have to end this woeful run.

"Our URC form shows we’ve got a lot more work still to do. I’d love to be further down the track than we are,” said Wilkins.

“We’ve got individuals who are improving, and you would hope that the collective bit is not far behind. But we’ve got to deliver and these next two games will show if that’s the case,” he added.

Connacht have only won 11 of the 38 league contests between the sides with Cardiff winning 25. There have been two draws.

CONNACHT: P O’Conor; S Bolton, H Gavin, C Forde, C Mullins; J Ioane, B Murphy; P Dooley, D Heffernan, J Aungier; J Murphy, J Joyce; C Prendergast, S Hurley-Langton, P Boyle. Replacements: D Tierney-Martin, J Duggan, S Illo, O Dowling, S Jansen, M Devine, JJ Hanrahan, S Cordero.

CARDIFF: C Winnett; G Hamer-Webb, R Lee-Lo, R Jennings, H Millard; C Sheedy, J Mulder; R Barratt, L Belcher, R Litterick; J McNally, S Davies, D Thomas, A Lawrence. Replacements: E Daniel, D Southworth, W Davies-King, R Thornton, B Donnell, T Young, C Braley, J Beetham.

Referee: H Davidson (Scotland).