Connacht are traditionally slow starters but they hope to put that right in their 2020-21 Pro14 opener against Glasgow. Here's what you need to know about today's match
Connacht v Glasgow live stream: How to watch from anywhere
This is a familiar pairing for the start of a Guinness Pro14 season, with Glasgow notching up their fourth round-one visit in five years to Ireland’s west coast. Around 200 spectators will be at The Sportsground today (kick-off 5.15pm) to see if the Scots can maintain their recent dominance in the fixture.
Glasgow include 17 internationals in their match-day 23, including two front-rowers on the point of making their 50th club appearance: prop D’arcy Rae and hooker George Turner.
Wing Robbie Nairn, who scored a brace when the teams last met, makes his first start since the opening match of last season, while prop Aki Seiuli returns to the match squad for the first time since February following a thumb injury. New signing Fotu Lokotui is set for his club debut as a replacement.
Pulling power: Jack Carty and Tom Farrell training in Galway ahead of Connacht’s opening league match of the 2020-21 season (Inpho)
Connacht haven’t won their first-round fixture since 2015, nor beaten a Scottish opponent since April 2017. They are determined to set off on the right foot, hooker David Heffernan saying: “We want to make the play-offs. In the history of this competition, teams who do that win 90% of their home games. So we know we need to make The Sportsground a fortress.”
Jarrad Butler begins his third season as Connacht captain. The hosts field the back-line that put Ulster to the sword at Aviva Stadium after the resumption, with Ireland trio Kieran Marmion, Jack Carty and Bundee Aki comprising the 9-10-12 axis.
The following week Connacht crashed 49-12 to Munster after having forwards Abraham Papali’i and Shane Delahunt sent off in the first half. The club has had a month or so to stew over that, but head coach Andy Friend says they have put it to bed.
“The spirit and energy at training has been really positive all week and there’s always a sense of excitement when you start a new season,” he said. “If this squad can produce what I know they’re capable of, we have a great chance of picking up a win.”
The teams didn’t meet last season, with a raft of fixtures cancelled because of Covid. So the last clash was in February 2019 when Glasgow won 43-17 at Scotstoun. George Horne scored the first of Glasgow’s tries that day after just 45 seconds. Watch highlights of the game here.
Connacht: John Porch; Peter Sullivan, Tom Farrell, Bundee Aki, Alex Wootton; Jack Carty, Kieran Marmion; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Gavin Thornbury, Quinn Roux, Jarrad Butler (capt), Conor Oliver, Paul Boyle.
Replacements: 16 Jonny Murphy, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Seán Masterson, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Conor Fitzgerald, 23 Sammy Arnold.
Glasgow: Huw Jones; Tommy Seymour, Nick Grigg, Stafford McDowall, Robbie Nairn; Adam Hastings, Ali Price; Oli Kebble, Fraser Brown (capt), D’arcy Rae, Rob Harley, Scott Cummings, Ryan Wilson, Chris Fusaro, Matt Fagerson.
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Enrique Pieretto 19 Richie Gray, 20 Fotu Lokotui, 21 George Horne, 22 Pete Horne, Ratu Tagive.
Warrior: Oli Kebble carries during Glasgow’s last game, a 15-3 win against Edinburgh in August (Inpho)
Here’s how to find a reliable live stream for Connacht v Glasgow wherever you are…
How to watch Connacht v Glasgow from outside your country
If you’re abroad but still want to watch your local Pro14 coverage, like Connacht v Glasgow, you can do so by using a VPN – Virtual Private Network.
VPNs allow you to get around any geo-blocking by changing your IP address so you appear in a different location and can watch the same legal Pro14 live stream you would at home.
Our friends at TechRadar have tested hundreds of VPN and recommend ExpressVPN, which is easy to use, has strong security features and allows you to watch on several devices at once, including smart TVs and phones, iPads, tablets, PCs and Macs.
Plus, ExpressVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can try it out for a month for free – perfect timing to watch the end of the Pro14 season – or sign up for an annual plan and get three months free.
Connacht v Glasgow live stream: How to watch from the UK
Connacht v Glasgow, which kicks off today at 5.15pm, will be shown live on Premier Sports 1 in the UK.
Premier Sports show every Guinness Pro14 match live in the UK. If you have a Sky or Virgin Media contract, you can add Premier Sports to your package from £9.99 a month.
Or subscribe to Premier Player so you can stream matches online from £9.99 a month or £99 for 12 months.
If you’re from the UK but are overseas when there’s a particular match you want to watch, you can get your normal live stream but you’ll need a VPN – see the information above.
Connacht v Glasgow live stream: How to watch from Ireland
In Ireland, eir Sport show every Pro14 match live, including Connacht v Glasgow (kick-off 5.15pm on eir Sport 1). If you sign up for eir broadband you can watch eir Sport for free via the eir TV app and online player.
Find out more about the eir broadband deals here. Or you can sign up for eir TV and broadband packages, which include eir Sport, from €39.98 a month.
If you have Sky TV in Ireland but not eir broadband, you can add eir Sport to your package for €19.99 a month for three months (€29.99 after that) or for €240 for the year – here are the details of the Sky-eir package.
Connacht v Glasgow live stream: How to watch from Europe
If you’re in Austria, Germany, Italy or Switzerland, you can watch Connacht v Glasgow (kick-off 6.15pm) through the live and on-demand streaming service DAZN, which is compatible with smart TVs and phones, tablets, PCs, streaming sticks, set-top boxes, gaming consoles and more.
Connacht v Glasgow live stream: How to watch from New Zealand
If you want to tune in to Connacht v Glasgow from New Zealand, the match kicks off at 4.15am on Sky Sport NZ Select.
It costs $31.99 a month to add Sky Sport to your Sky Starter pack ($25.99).
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:
- Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service)
- Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad
We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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