Mils Muliaina set to captain Connacht in Challenge Cup

Connacht's All Black centurion fullback Mils Muliaina will captain the province in their vital European Challenge Cup game with La Rochelle in France.

Head Coach Pat Lam has made six changes to his side as they aim to secure one of the three best runner-up spots and a place in the competition’s quarter final.

Regular team John Muldoon, who has started 16 of 18 games this season, is named on the bench.

“With the rotation of John (Muldoon) and Nathan (White) just coming back from injury, Mils (Muliaina) was the clear choice to lead the side tomorrow,” explained head coach Pat Lam.

“As someone who has captained both the All Blacks and the Chiefs, his experience and influence on and off the park will be crucial for us tomorrow in a tough environment.”

With Robbie Henshaw’s injury sees Darragh Leader come into the team on the right wing to allow Danie Poolman to shift to outside centre - while 22-year-old Conor Finn from Galway wears the number 12 shirt.

“With injuries to four of our mid fielders, the versatility of Danie (Poolman) sees him move to outside centre while young Conor (Finn) gets another opportunity after an impressive starting performance in our last game in France against Bayonne” said Lam.

Up front, the props are changed with Ronan Loughney and Nathan White, who both just signed new two year deals with the province, coming in. The 33-year-old White, who was on Thursday named in the 46-man Ireland squad ahead of the RBS Six Nations, makes his return to the senior team after a ten-week absence due to injury. Galway men Andrew Browne and Eoin McKeon represent the other changes to the pack.

“With this being our tenth consecutive game at the end of a very busy block of fixtures, we felt it was important to bring in fresh legs up front against another big, physical forward pack in La Rochelle” explained Lam.

“The fact that the changes here sees all senior and experienced guys come in just highlights the competition for places we have this season in some positions.

“This is knock out football already and we have prepared accordingly with a simple focus of getting the job done and reaching the last eight.”

Connacht team: Mils Muliaina; Darragh Leader, Danie Poolman, Conor Finn, Matt Healy; Jack Carty, Kieran Marmion; Ronan Louhgney, Tom McCartney, Nathan White; Quinn Roux, Andrew Browne, Eoin McKeon, Willie Faloon, George Naoupu

Replacements: Dave Heffernan, JP Cooney, Finlay Bealham, Danny Qualter, John Muldoon, Caolin Blade, Miah Nikora, Niyi Adeolokun