Connacht named Cian Prendergast as captain for Friday’s BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-final against Glasgow Warriors, setting up a winner-takes-all night at Scotstoun Stadium. The match kicks off at 7.45pm Irish time, and Stuart Lancaster has backed a 23-man squad built for one of the biggest tests of the season.
The selection answers the question supporters were waiting for after Connacht confirmed their matchday squad on Thursday, with the knockout tie now only hours away. Prendergast, who leads a side that has reached the stage it targeted at the start of the campaign, will take charge of a team carrying a mix of continuity and returnees into the last eight.
Paul Boyle comes in for the injured Sean Jansen, while John Devine replaces Harry West at outside centre after being named alongside Bundee Aki in midfield. Josh Ioane remains at fly-half with Ben Murphy at scrum-half, and the back three stays as Shayne Bolton, Shane Jennings and Sam Gilbert, giving Connacht a settled spine for a game where one mistake can end the season.
There is still some movement in the squad, though not everything has fallen into place. Dave Heffernan is back on the bench after recovering fitness, Sean O’Brien is listed among the forward replacements, and Hugh Gavin takes the number 22 jersey, but Jack Carty remains unavailable for personal reasons. That leaves Connacht with useful reinforcements and some clear absences as they go into a quarter-final that will test both depth and control.
Lancaster said the squad has earned the chance to be here and urged his players to seize it against a Glasgow side he described as formidable, particularly at home. The scale of the task is clear: the winner moves on in the knockout competition, while the loser goes no further. For Connacht, the next 80 minutes at Scotstoun will decide whether this season’s promise turns into a semi-final place or ends on Friday night.
