Henshaw and Ah You set to return for crucial clash against Scarlets

CONNACHT’S big guns will be let loose this weekend for the biggest game of the season to date. Rivals for sixth place in the league, Connacht and Scarlets are eyeballing each other ahead of Saturday’s crunch clash at the Sportsground (7.30pm).

After hammering Zebre with a try bonus last Friday, Connacht are sixth in the league table, with 23 points, within striking distance of Leinster (24 points), Glasgow (27 points) and Munster (28 points).

The Scarlets are in seventh place in the table, just a point behind Connacht, and this mouth-watering clash is effectively an eight-pointer, in the scramble to secure European qualification.

A win is vital for Pat Lam’s men, if only to cement the view that they are serious contenders for qualification for the European Cup in their own right.

A win would also put some daylight between themselves and Scarlets, as well as Edinburgh, in the chasing pack. And it would relieve some pressure on Connacht for the return leg to Wales in February, which looks likely to be another seminal fixture in the destination of the sixth spot.

The stakes are high. And given the importance of this tie, the IRFU have acceded to a request by Lam for leeway to allow him to start Ireland internationals.

The three other provinces’ internationals must rest this weekend but Lam has been given the go-ahead to start Robbie Henshaw and Rodney Ah You, who have been with Joe Schmidt’s squad for the autumn series. They will instead be rested the weekend of the away European Challenge Cup match against Bayonne.

The prospect of seeing Henshaw playing in a backline that contains Mils Muliaina should attract a huge crowd again to College Road.

Connacht’s first All-Black, Muliaina, in his debut on Friday, showed glimpses of class – as his fitness improves, and understanding with colleagues improves, the World-Cup winner is only going to get better, and he’ll better those around him.

Ah You will bolster the scrum, which is light on hooker options now that Jason Harris-Wright has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after sustaining a cruciate injury against the Italians.

Harris-Wright was only just back after recovering from a shoulder injury sustained at the tail-end of last season and it is a big personal blow to him and Connacht. New Zealand prop Tom McCartney is likely to shore-up the hooker position.

There is better news in the second row with both Michael Swift and Aly Muldowney available for selection in the starting xv, which will be announced at noon today (Friday).

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.