Bealham back for Connacht but Hansen and Aki miss trip to South Africa

Finlay Bealham is part of the Connacht squad for their trip to South Africa but fellow Ireland internationals Mack Hansen and Bundee Aki are not fit to travel.

Tighthead prop Bealham played in four of Ireland's World Cup games and is now back in contention for BKT United Rugby Championship games against the Sharks (Saturday 3pm, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player) and the Bulls over the next two weeks.

Centre Aki, Ireland’s player of the tournament, and wing Hansen, are recovering from hamstring and ankle injuries, respectively, after both playing in all five of Ireland’s matches in France.

"Bundee and Mack are still rehabbing knocks that they brought home from the World Cup," head coach Pete Wilkins told RTÉ Sport.

"Mack hopefully will be available after this South Africa trip; Bundee probably a couple of weeks after that so they are not far away but they do need these three or four weeks to get their bodies right and as soon as they are right we look forward to welcoming them back.

"[Bundee’s] had an ongoing hamstring issue that he’s had to manage but particularly with the exertions of the World Cup and this window after the World Cup that he needed to rest anyway, it’s a good time to try and get that right and get it as good as possible for the season to come."

Meanwhile, prop Jack Aungier will also recuperate at home following a head injury during the defeat to Edinburgh, Connacht's first defeat of the season, on Saturday night.

"Jack left the pitch for a HIA [head injury assessment] on Saturday night. That rules him out of this.

"He’ll do the HIA3 today and if he passes that, in theory, he could be available for selection for the weekend but we’d be taking him [while] waiting for an official sign-off later in the week so for