Rugby

Connacht missing eight players for home interprovincial against Munster

Recent difficult run of form has seen the western province slip to 10th in the URC

Connacht’s Sean O’Brien: his foot injury in the match against Ulster continues to be 'scanned and assessed'. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
Connacht’s Sean O’Brien: his foot injury in the match against Ulster continues to be 'scanned and assessed'. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
Linkey MacKenzie
Thu Dec 28 2023 - 14:45

Connacht are missing eight players for the crunch New Year’s URC home interprovincial against Munster on Monday.

While Munster are suffering a lengthy injury list Connacht also have a number ruled out, with the back row particularly hit. Sean O’Brien’s foot injury in the Ulster match continues to be “scanned and assessed” but he is ruled out for the next couple of weeks; Sean Jansen is sidelined having suffered an abdominal strain prior to the Champions Cup fixture with Saracens; and Paul Boyle continues his recovery from a facial injury, limiting Peter Wilkins’ options ahead of this key interpro.

Also absent are Diarmuid Kilgallon with a “significant” hamstring injury which could rule him out for a couple of months, Tiernan O’Halloran with a foot strain, while there are no updates on the long-term injured trio of Santiago Cordero, Oisin McCormack and Colm Reilly.

Only two points separate the two sides – Munster in the more comfortable position in sixth place. But Connacht’s recent run has seen them slip to 10th position, below the Champions Cup qualification.

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However head coach Pete Wilkins says this is not a must-win game in the context of the season. “There is so much rugby to come, but any time you play an interpro, particularly a home interpro, in your mind it is a must-win because you want to make a statement against your closest rivals.

“I don’t think there is that weight of pressure and expectation around the season as a whole, but if you have lost a few on the bounce then the urgency and hunger to win becomes even stronger than ever, so I don’t think that will diminish. There is a lot rugby to come.”

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