Bundee Aki and Mack Hansen give Connacht boost ahead of Ulster trip

Connacht look set to be close to full strength for this Friday's BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-final against Ulster in Belfast, with Bundee Aki and Mack Hansen available for selection.

The pair missed the Round 18 defeat to Glasgow Warriors due to illness, but director of rugby Andy Friend has confirmed the pair are training fully and on course to play.

Gavin Thornbury, Conor Fitzgerald, Sean Masterson, Oisin McCormack and Shane Bolton remain on the long-term injury list, but the Connacht coach is working with an otherwise full squad, with 41 players training this week and available.

With director of rugby Andy Friend set to depart at the end of this season, Friday night's game at Kingspan Stadium could be the Australian's final match in charge after five seasons.

And he admits it's arguably the most important week the team has had since he arrived at the Sportsground in the summer of 2018.

"It's certainly right up there. I remember our first year we had a similar quarter-final against Ulster, and that was a big week too," he said.

"We've had some big weeks, big moments, but if we live in the present, this is definitely a huge week for us and probably the most important."

While Connacht closed out the URC regular season with a 29-27 defeat to Glasgow, their seventh-place finish sees them return to the play-offs, while it should also be enough for them to qualify for the Champions Cup next season unless the Cell C Sharks cause a major shock by winning the URC.

Ulster won both regular season meetings between the sides this season, including a one-sided 36-10 victory on the opening night back in September.

However, Friend [above] says Connacht are far improved from the group that started the season with four defeats from