Much changed Connacht for opening game
August 30, 2000

Connacht's side for their opening Interprovincial match against Leinster on Friday evening shows nine changes from the team which played against Ebbw Vale in their final competitive game of last season.

Coach Stef Nels has lost Mel Deane and Bernard Jackman who have followed former coach Glenn Ross to Sale. While Matt Mostyn has joined Newport, Shane McDonald, Gavin Webster and Martyn Steffert have all returned to the Southern Hemisphere and John Maher is a long-term absentee with a cruciate knee ligament injury.

With Simon Allnutt and Tom Keating also injured Willie Ruane returns at full back, as does Junior Charlie, while six players make their Interprovincial debuts - Terenure centre Michael Smyth, ex-Portadown winger Denver Rumney, Blackrock scrum-half James Ferris, new South African hooker Marnus Uijs, and homegrown Connacht under-21 players lock Damien Browne and flanker Johnny O'Connor.

There are more newcomers on the bench in ex-Leeds back-rower Michael Swift and ex-Stade Francais prop Dan McFarland.

CONNACHT: W. Ruane, P. Duignan, M. Smyth, M. Murphy, D. Romney, E. Elwood, J. Ferris, J. Screene, M. Ruijs, M. Cahill, M. McConnell, D. Browne, I. Dillon, J. Charlie, J. O'Connor.
replacements: R. Lee, T. Allnutt, S. McIvor, M. Swift, C. Rigney, J. McVeigh, D. McFarland.

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