PREVIEW: Connacht’s back row forward on Friday Union Bordeaux-Bègles has been advised by Paul Boyle to prepare for weather conditions that are unfamiliar to them.
On Friday, the French team will play their opening Champions Cup Pool One match at The Sportsground.
Galway’s stadium is notorious for being unwelcoming against foreign teams, therefore Boyle thinks Connacht can surprise the TOP 14 squad by having the boisterous home fans on their corner.
The 26-year-old, who can play across the back row, said, “I’d say they’ve never experienced something before.”
They enter a little away dressing room, which is damp and windy. They first cross a dog track on the pitch, which is something they aren’t used to. That’s what distinguishes our home field.
“I think we also have a huge advantage because of our home audience. Utilizing the audience is our goal. That evening, we’ll play it, and maybe we’ll win.
Although Damian Penaud, the top try-scorer in the TOP 14 this season with seven tries in just four games, is a huge star for Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Boyle thinks Connacht has their big name in the form of the strong Ireland center Bundee Aki.
Boyle said, “He’s a real leader within the group.” “I believe that as he ages, his abilities improve. He gave some really absurd performances during the World Cup. He got himself into an absolutely amazing shape.
“I’m excited for him to rejoin the team and continue that form into Connacht Rugby. He will be a crucial member of our squad for these Champions Cup matches.
* In the meantime, Scottish center Stafford McDowall of the Glasgow Warriors has predicted that Friday’s Pool Three opening at Scotstoun Stadium against the Northampton Saints will be “a great game.”
With Northampton Saints trailing the Gallagher Premiership leaders by just two points in sixth place and Glasgow Warriors holding second place in the United Championship, both teams have had an outstanding start to their domestic seasons.
McDowall remarked, “We know Northampton is a classy team.”
They probably prefer to fling the ball around a little bit more than we do, so hopefully this will be a fantastic game.
“Having individuals come and go has perhaps made things a little haphazard, but we’ve managed to achieve some positive outcomes.
“I think we did pretty well to start, but we know we can do much better and we have a few gears we can shift up, so hopefully by the first round, we’ll be really clicking.”
The fact that the game is an Anglo-Scottish rivalry and is probably going to include a number of international players from both nations is an additional draw.
McDowall, a Scotland international himself, said, “There’s always that bit of rivalry whenever Scotland play England in anything.”
No. 8 Northampton Saints Despite being South African, Juarno Augustus is excited about his first trip to Scotland, especially because the Gallagher Premiership team has already outperformed the competition in terms of offloads, tackle success, and clean breaks this season.
“Playing against teams from other nations is enjoyable, as is traveling there and experiencing the environment, the spectators, and the stadiums,” he remarked. It’s excellent to test oneself against the top teams in their respective competitions.
All the Friday teams and predictions follow below…
Glasgow Warriors v Northampton Saints
(Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow – Kick-off: 20.00; 20.00 GMT)
Forecast
@rugby365com: 12 points to Glasgow
Groups
Josh McKay, 14, Sebastian Cancelliere, 13, Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall (captain), 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Sean Kennedy, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Scott Cummings, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti are the Glasgow Warriors players’ lineup.
17 George Turner, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Sione Vailanu, 22 Ben Afshar, and 23 Ross Thompson are the replacements.
Northampton Saints: 11 George Hendy, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 13 Tommy Freeman, 14 Ollie Sleightholme, 15 George Furbank (captain), 10 Courtney Lawes, 5 Alex Moon, 4 Tom Lockett, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Alex Waller, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Sam Graham, 7 Angus Scott-Young.
(16) Robbie Smith; (17) Tarek Haffar; (18) Trevor Davison; (19) Temo Mayanavanua; (20) Tom Pearson; (21–22) Tom James; (23–24) Tom Litchfield.
French referee Luc Ramos
Jonathan Gasnier and Vivien Praderie are the assistant referees from France.
TMO: France’s Thomas Charabas
Connacht v Bordeaux-Bègles
(The Sportsground, Galway – Kick-off: 20.00; 21.00 French time, 20.00 GMT)
Forecast
@rugby365com: nine points to Connacht
Groups
Connacht: 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Darragh Murray, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley, 11 Andrew Smith, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Seán Jansen, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast, and 5 Joe Hansen.
18 Jack Aungier, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Conor Oliver, 21 Michael McDonald, 22 David Hawkshaw, and 23 John Porch are the replacements for Tadgh McElroy in position 16.
Bordeaux-Begles: Ben Tapuai, 11 Pablo Uberti, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 15 Romain Buros, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Nicolas Depoorte, 12 Eight Tevita Tatafu, seven Pete Samu, six Pierre Bochaton, five Thomas Jolmès, four Guido Petti, three Sipili Falatea, two Clément Maynadier, and one Ugo Boniface are the names of the participants.
Maxime Lamothe (16), Ben Tameifuna (17), Carlü Sadie (18), Alexandre Ricard (19), Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer (20), Antoine Miquel (21), Paul Abadie (22), and Nans Ducuing (23), are the replacements.
Karl Dickson, the England referee,
John Meredith and Joe James, both from England, served as assistant referees.
Stuart Terheege, England, TMO
