Leitrim's Shane Mallon named for first start with Connacht

Leitrim’s Shane Mallon takes a major step in his rugby career on Friday after the Bornacoola man was named for his debut appearance with Connacht in Friday’s televised BKT United Rugby Championship clash with Leinster in Dublin’s RDS.

The former Longford RFC clubman is now an academy player with Connacht Rugby and will make his debut for his home province on the wing against European Cup finalists Leinster in the RDS on Friday (7.35 kickoff). The former Leitrim underage footballer and hurler won a Six Nations U20 Championships with Ireland in 2022 and has been part of the Connacht Academy for the past number of years.

Mallon will share his milestone appearance with fellow debutant Santiago Cordero and Dave Heffernan who is at the opposite end of the scale to the Bornacoola man, making his 200th appearance for Connacht, the eighth player to do so.

Speaking of the three players, Head Coach Pete Wilkins said “For Dave Heffernan to be making his 200th Connacht appearance and Shane Mallon his first, typifies the Connacht ethos of developing local players who understand how special it is to play for this province. 

“Dave and Shane’s families, friends and local communities can be very proud of their respective milestones. We must ensure we deliver a top-class performance on Friday evening, not only to mark the occasion for these men, but also to ensure our season marches on beyond this weekend and reward our fantastic supporters who have given us so much energy and belief across the season.”

Wilkins nevertheless wants to see his team put in a performance against one of Europe’s best teams: “Although disappointed we have put ourselves in a position where we are relying on other results to secure our place in the URC top 8, there is no greater incentive for a performance than an away game against Leinster. 

“Both the rivalry and the connections between the two provinces are special, and we have approached this week with excitement, focus and determination.”

The game will be televised live on TG4 and Premier Sports.

The front row of Peter Dooley, Dave Heffernan and Finlay Bealham is unchanged, while Niall Murray comes into the second row to partner Joe Joyce. In the back row Cian Prendergast and Sean Jansen are retained, with Conor Oliver named at openside flanker.

Caolin Blade and captain Jack Carty start, while there’s a centre partnership of Cathal Forde and David Hawkshaw. Shane Jennings completes the side on the right wing.

The full Connacht matchday 23 against Leinster is as follows: (Number/ name/ caps (* denotes uncapped)

15. Santiago Cordero (1)
16. Shane Jennings (13)
17. David Hawkshaw (29)
18. Cathal Forde (30)
19. Shane Mallon *
20. Jack Carty (210) (C)
21. Caolin Blade (190)
22. Peter Dooley (36)
23. Dave Heffernan (199)
24. Finlay Bealham (203)
25. Joe Joyce (20)
26. Niall Murray (74)
27. Cian Prendergast (66)
28. Conor Oliver (83)
29. Sean Jansen (6)
30. Dylan Tierney-Martin (35)
31. Denis Buckley (247)
32. Jack Aungier (66)
33. Darragh Murray (24)
34. Seán O’Brien (8)
35. Colm Reilly (26)
36. Byron Ralston (30)
37. Tom Daly (80)