By JOHN FALLON

CONNACHT head to Cardiff this Friday hoping to finish their Challenge Cup pool campaign with a fourth straight win, but there could be an element of shadow boxing as the two sides will meet in a crunch league game back in Galway in a month.

The Challenge Cup looks like being Connacht’s best chance of saving their season and given that they have not won an URC game at Dexcom Stadium since October, their next home league against Cardiff will take on added significance.

“It’s fascinating, isn’t it, when you get those sort of match ups,” said Connacht head coach Wilkins. “It has always been tough over the years over there, always incredibly tight encounters. And we know, if you are going away to Cardiff, you’ve got to take a group of players that are ready for a genuine street fight in terms of the competitiveness of the game and the closeness of the game.”

Connacht’s hopes of finishing their Challenge Cup pool with a perfect winning record has been given a huge boost as experienced out-half JJ Hanrahan is set for his first action since April when they head to the Arms Park on Friday.

Wilkins said Hanrahan is available for his first game since suffering an ACL against former club the Dragons back in April and the 32-year old Kerry native is poised to freshen things up for Connacht.

They have already secured top position in the pool but need another couple of points to be absolutely guaranteed home advantage in all three knockout games to the final, if they progress that far for the first time in their history.

“He’s fit and ready to go, how we use him this weekend we’ll have to wait and see. It’s brilliant to have him back in the mix,” said Wilkins, whose side has already banked bonus point wins over Zebre, Perpignan and Lyon in this season’s second tier European competition.

“First and foremost I have to acknowledge the journey he’s been on, the last game of rugby over in Dragons in April. It is a lonely journey with these long-term injuries. The way he has grafted away has been unbelievably professional.

“He’s broken up that rehab into bite-size chunks and gone about his business really well. For him to get to this point is fantastic and credit to him.

“In terms of where he’s at, he’s been training fully with the team for the last couple of weeks, and outside of that training we have been topping up his running load and contact load, as if to replicate the fact he’s been playing games on weekends.”

Mack Hansen will serve second of his three-game suspension on Friday but Wilkins confirmed that other Irish internationals Bundee Aki and Finlay Bealham are available as they were rested in the opening two rounds pre-Christmas.

However, experienced loosehead Denis Buckley is out with a dead leg, while a calf strain has ruled out lock Oisin Dowing.

Meanwhile, Connacht’s URC clash with Munster at McHale Park in Castlebar on March 29 is a sellout with all 25,000 tickets being snapped up within hours of going on sale.

Pictured: Connacht prop Finlay Bealham leading this charge against Lyon during Saturday’s European Challenge Cup clash at Dexcom Stadium. Photo: Iain McDonald.