The three other changes are in the forwards with Steve Jones coming in at hooker for Ben Daly while Joe Bearman takes over at No.8 in place of Nic Fitisemanu.
The other change sees Andy Hall come in for Luke Charteris and he takes over the captaincy armband. Hall has captained The Dragons on only one occasion when he led the side to a narrow 10-6 win over Bedford in pre season.
Connacht have not beaten a Welsh region since they beat The Dragons on 13th October but have also never lost their opening fixture of a new season.
The Dragons have not won in Ireland since a 28-21 victory against Ravenhill on 8th October 2004 but confidence is high following The Dragons first ever win at Stradey Park in the opening game of the season.
Speaking on the game captain Andrew Hall said, "After our performance against the Blues it is good to have Connacht as it doesn't get any easier. We have won only once over there so it is a tough place to go and get a result. Obviously I would like to keep my 100% record as captain and it is a huge honour for me to wear the captains armband and also a surprise. At the moment it seems to be all or nothing for me, I am either not involved or I am involved and I am captain!
"It has been a good two weeks training and we have started preparation early which has allowed us to focus on attention to detail. There is a buoyant mood in the camp, the boys have been bouncing around and everyone has a smile on their faces. However, there is also a quiet focus and they boys know what they have to do to get the win."
The last four fixtures between the two sides have all been won by the homes side on the day and The Dragons last win in Galway was on 1st May 2004.
Newport Gwent Dragons
15 Martyn Thomas
14 Gareth Wyatt
13 Rhodri Gomer-Davies
12 Ashley Smith
11 Richard Mustoe
10 Gareth McCarthy
9 Andrew Williams
1 Adam Black
2 Steve Jones
3 Rhys Thomas
4 Andrew Hall (c)
5 Peter Sidoli
6 Jamie Ringer
7 Richard Parks
8 Joe Bearman
Replacements
16 Ben Daly
17 Hugh Gustafson
18 Luke Charteris
19 Dan Lediate
20 Nic Fitisemanu
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