Connacht enter their penultimate group one match of the Amlin Challenge Cup knowing that a win against second place Montpellier will guarantee top spot.
The French side appear to have conceded the group as they have sent a weakened squad to Ireland, symbolised by the omission of French international half-back Francois Trinh-Duc and regular place kicker Federico Todeschini
Connacht captain John Muldoon is taking nothing for granted:
"The whole lot hinges on Friday evening, It has taken a lot to get this far but now it comes down to defeating Montpellier, otherwise it will all be lost."
The back row also took the opportunity to issue a rallying cry to fans to make The Sportsground an intimidating venue:"We need the crowd to get us across the line. They can be the difference between winning and losing."
Brett Wilkinson has been passed fit to play in the front row, with Troy Nathan moving to full-back in the absence of the injured Gavin Duffy
The western province clearly welcomes the distraction of European games as they sit rock bottom of the Magners League with just two wins. But with a 100% record in European competition, a win on Friday followed by Victory on their visit to Olympus Madrid would guarantee a home quarter final.
CONNACHT -- T Nathan; L Bibo, N Ta'auso, K Matthews, F Carr; I Keatley, F Murphy; B Wilkinson, S Cronin, R Morris; M Swift, B Upton; M McCarthy, R Ofisa, J Muldoon (capt). Reps: A Flavin, R Loughney, J Hagan, A Browne, G Naoupu, C O'Loughlin, M Nikora, A Wynne.
MONTPELLIER -- JM Alcade; B Thiery, O Smith, G Rees, T Brana; J Schutte, A Thomas; E van Staden, J Caudullo, B Douglas; M Macurdy, M Gorgodze; V Bost, G Chkhaidze, M Giraud. Reps: F Rofes, N Leleimalefaga, M Demarco, S Matadigo, M Castell, G Doumayrou, S Max, J Figallo.
REF -- P Allan (Scotland).
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