Carty, Bealham and Buckley fitness boost for Connacht

Connacht have been handed a major boost ahead of their BKT United Rugby Championship run-in, with confirmation that Jack Carty, Finlay Bealham and Denis Buckley have all returned to training.

The experienced trip are all set to be available for selection for the province's final home game of the regular season on Saturday, when Andy Friend's side welcome Cardiff to the Sportsground.

Carty has missed the province's last three games, since suffering a hamstring injury prior to their win away to the Dragons last month, with David Hawkshaw deputising in the number 10 for each of those games.

Bealham returns to training having been sidelined since suffering a knee injury during Ireland's Six Nations Round 3 win against Italy at the end of February, with the tighthead prop having been named in the official Team of the Tournament for his efforts in the opening two and a half games.

And Buckley, who recently signed a new contract at the province, has shaken off an ankle injury to be in contention for this weekend.

The province are sixth in the table heading into the final two rounds of games against Cardiff and away to Edinburgh, knowing that a top-eight finish will see them secure a spot in the playoffs. However, with the low rankings of the Welsh teams this season, Connacht know they will likely need to finish in the top seven in order to secure Champions Cup qualification for next season.

Watch Lions v Leinster (Saturday 3pm), Stormers v Munster (Saturday 5.15pm) and Connacht v Cardiff (Saturday 7.35pm) on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player or follow live scores on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app.

Follow a live blog for Italy v Ireland in the Women's Six Nations (Saturday 4.45pm) on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live