150th cap for Bundee Aki as Connacht make 10 changes for must win clash against Edinburgh

Edinburgh hold an edge in this fixture with 20 wins from 37 meetings which includes 15 Connacht triumphs and two draws.

Fri, 09 May, 2025 - 19:25

John Fallon

Interim head coach Cullie Tucker will hope to lead Connacht to their first URC win since he took charge when they take on Edinburgh in their final home game of a very disappointing season at Dexcom Stadium on Saturday night (7.35pm).

Five defeats and a Challenge Cup win over Cardiff has been the outcome so far since Tucker took over from Pete Wilkins. Two of the losses were by 43-40. Amazing for a team to score 40 points and not win. Remarkable to do it twice in three games. But in a way it sums up the season, a campaign where Connacht assembled their strongest squad ever and go into the penultimate round third from bottom.

They could, of course, still qualify if a freakish set of results went their way. But first things first, they need to get ten points from this clash against Edinburgh at Dexcom Stadium and then away to Zebre. Fifteen bonus points has kept their slim hopes alive in a campaign where they have won just five of their 16 games.

Edinburgh are also fighting a rearguard action to make the top eight and come into this having won only two of their last seven league games as well as going down to Bath in the Challenge Cup semi-finals last weekend.

“It’s a dogfight between both teams now to put themselves in the position to be in contention for the last game,” said interim head coach Tucker. “It’s an incredibly tough challenge ahead. But we feel we have trained well, and we’re looking forward to it.

“Over the last couple of weeks we’ve taken our learnings, and eventually I think those things tell, but I’ve said constantly once our effort is there and once we’re creating you know at some stage it does have to crack for us.

“I think the players, from my point of view, since I came in have been fantastic, so have the coaches and so have all the organisation around me. So while there's been frustrations, everybody's pulled together very hard as well.

“Fifteen bonus points all season tells the story in itself, including a number over the last couple of weeks, and two tries at the death that were chalked off.

“All those things lead to frustrations and disappointments in the group. And then, there has been Pete’s situation as well. It’s just a scenario you wouldn’t normally face. There have been challenges.”

The new High Performance Centre which is part of the €40m redevelopment of the Sportsground opened this week and the new stand is expected next January.

The venue, a building site now for over a year, has not been a fortress this season. Seven league games has seen four wins and three losses.

Edinburgh have won just twice away from home all season — against Vannes in the Challenge Cup and a shock victory away to Munster, but they hold an edge in this fixture with 20 wins from 37 meetings which includes 15 Connacht triumphs and two draws.

Connacht go into the fixture with four league losses in a row but victory, while hardly enough to snatch a knockout place, will at least see them wrap up their home campaign on a positive note.

Tucker has made ten changes to the side heavily defeated by the Lions last time out. Bundee Aki will make his 150th appearance as he prepares for his second British and Irish Lions tour when he comes in for Cathal Forde in a backline where only Shayne Bolton is retained from the last day out. Santiago Cordero replaces Piers O’Conor at full-back, Hugh Gavin takes over from David Hawkshaw at outside centre and Finn Treacy comes on to the left wing instead of Shane Jennings. JJ Hanrahan replaces the injured Jack Carty at out-half with Ben Murphy taking over from Matthew Devine at scrum-half.

Up front Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan and Finlay Bealham replace Peter Dooley, Dylan Tierney-Martin and Jack Aungier in a new front row, and Darragh Murray comes in for Joe Joyce in the second row.

CONNACHT: S Cordero; S Bolton, H Gavin, B Aki, F Treacy; JJ Hanrahan, B Murphy; D Buckley, D Heffernan, F Bealham; J Murphy, D Murray; C Prendergast (c), C Oliver, S Jansen.

Replacements: D Tierney-Martin, P Dooley, J Aungier, O Dowling, P Boyle, C Blade, C Forde, D Hawkshaw.

EDINBURGH: W Goosen, D Graham, M Currie, M Tuipulotu, J Brown, R Thompson, A Price; P Schoeman, E Ashman, D Rae, M Skyes, B Muncaster, H Watson, M Bradbury (c).

Replacements: P Harrison, B Venter, J Sebastian, G Young, L McConnell, C Shiel, B Healy, J Lang.