CELTIC LEAGUE Dragons v Connacht Sunday, 23 Nov, 1430 GMT Rodney Parade, Newport

Also on the bench and set to make their first appearances for the Gwent side are World Cup pair Rod Snow and Ross Beattie.

The Dragons field the same starting line up which won in Cardiff to take them fourth in the league.

"It's in fairness to the lads who've been playing, it's up to the others to get back in though it's nice to have them available," said team manager Jim McCreedy.

Jason Forster continues to lead the side with Andy Marinos still suffering from hamstring trouble.

"Hopefully Andy will be fit for the start of the Heineken Cup" said McCreedy. "We'll discuss with him and Newport whether he'll play a club game next week, though knowing him he might want to get match practice in.

"Percy Montgomery is still suspended until a few days before the Ulster match in Europe, so we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

The Dragons will be protecting a 100% home record at Rodney Parade.

Brown sticking with Dragons

But Marinos admits the political wranglings which mean the future of the Gwent side remains uncertain are taken their toll on the players.

"Our biggest headache this season has been the board-room shenanigans that have gone on and it has been hard to keep the players focused on the job in hand at times," said Marinos.

"It was like a knife going through your heart when we heard that some players would have to lose their jobs last week.

"They have put in so much hard work and effort since they joined in the summer, yet they have accepted their fate and continued to train as hard as ever with us.

"We will all be very, very sad to see them go.

"(Coaches) Mike Ruddock and Clive Griffiths always said it would take six-to-eight weeks for us to come together as a side because we were all thrown together in the summer. They were exactly right and we are now growing together as a group."

Connacht's defeat at the hands of Edinburgh is only going to make them even more determined Andy Marinos

Marinos says he has sympathy with Connacht, who find themselves in a similar position to the Dragons - a successful season on the field but an uncertain future as the Irish RFU reviews its provincial structure.

"We are both fighting to survive," said Marinos.

Connacht are currently third in the league table and their visits to Wales have already seen them record victories at Stradey Park and St Helen's.

However, they are still smarting after a heart-breaking 25-26 Celtic Cup semi-final loss to Edinburgh last weekend.

"Their defeat at the hands of Edinburgh is only going to make them even more determined when they come to play us and we know we're going to have a real fight on our hands to maintain our unbeaten record at home," said Marinos.

The view was backed by Connacht spokesman John Fallon.

"Edinburgh was definitely one of those games that got away from us and we really could have reached the final," said Fallon.

"Everyone realises we have to get back on track against the Dragons.

"It will be a bit of a new experience for many of the players playing on a Sunday, but we've no real injury worries and everyone is looking forward to getting back into action again."

Connacht make two changes up front from the team that lost to Edinburgh, Dan McFarland coming in at loosehead prop for the injured Ray Hogan, while in the back row Tom Carter starts at openside with Paul Neville moving to blindside.

Wayne Munn comes in on the left wing in a reshuffled backline which sees David Hewitt start at fly-half and Matt Mostyn switching to full-back.

Dragons: S Tuipulotu; N Brew, H Luscombe, S Winn, B Breeze; C Warlow, G Baber; A Black, S Jones, C Anthony, I Gough, P Sidoli, J Ringer, R Oakley, J Forster (capt).
Replacements: P Young, R Snow, M Owen, R Beattie, R Jones, L Jarvis, G Arasa.

Connacht: Matt Mostyn; Conor McPhillips, Darren Yapp, Mark McHugh, Wayne Munn; David Hewitt; Mike Walls; Dan McFarland, Bernard Jackman (capt), Adrian Clarke, Damian Browne, Andrew Farley, Paul Neville, Tom Carter, John O�Sullivan.
Replacements: John Fogarty,. Fabien Boiroux, Mike McCarthy, Matt Lacey, Conor O'Loughlin, Eric Elwood, Ted Robinson.

Referee: Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)