Connacht Rugby have announced the team that will face Edinburgh this Friday night.

Academy prop Denis Buckley earns his first competitive start for the province in the absence of Brett Wilkinson who is involved with the Ireland setup this weekend. 22 year old Buckley made his debut for Connacht last September against Treviso and despite being a member of the Connacht Academy the Creggs born loose-head has made a big impact in a number of Connacht's major games this season. With 5 caps to date Buckley has starred against both Italian outfits, including Connacht's season opening victory over Treviso, as well as European power-houses Toulouse and the famous victory over Harlequins in the Sportsground.

The only other change to the starting line-up sees the return of Frank Murphy to scrum-half. Murphy has been out of action with a groin injury since the first week in January and his return to full fitness sees him replace Paul O'Donohoe in the number 9 jersey.

Connacht's match against Edinburgh is not being televised so the ONLY way to catch all the action live is by getting down to the Sportsground on Friday night. Tickets can be purchased from www.connachtrugby.ie or from www.ticketmaster.ie

Connacht XV to face Edinburgh (The Sportsground - Friday 24th February - ko 19.30)

15 Gavin Duffy (C)
14 Fetu'u Vainikolo
13 Kyle Tonetti
12 Henry Fa'afili
11 Tiernan O'Halloran
10 Niall O'Connor
09 Frank Murphy
01 Denis Buckley
02 Adrian Flavin
03 Ronan Loughney
04 Michael Swift
05 Mike McCarthy
06 John Muldoon
07 Eoghan Grace
08 George Naoupu

16 Ethienne Reynecke
17 Dylan Rogers/Brett Wilkinson
18 Stewart Maguire
19 Mick Kearney
20 Ray Ofisa
21 Paul O'Donohoe
22 Matthew Jarvis
23 Eoin Griffin