Tom Daly: Ireland stars can help Connacht shock champions Stormers

Tom Daly says Connacht's Ireland contingent have been "different animals" since returning from New Zealand and backed them to prove the doubters wrong when they take on the DHL Stormers on Saturday.

Connacht came in for some stinging criticism following their one-sided loss at Ulster and they face another daunting challenge in Stellenbosch against the defending champions, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.

However, Daly said the return of Bundee Aki, Finlay Bealham, Mack Hansen, Dave Heffernan and Cian Prendergast has given the squad a timely boost.

"It's huge, having that depth of experience and leadership coming into the squad," Daly told RTÉ Sport.

"Obviously they're off the back of a huge series win in New Zealand. We saw when they came back into training the energy and positive vibes they were bringing. I'm sure they'll bring that into this tour as well. It's just a nice sprinkle of four or five internationals across the team, which will make a big difference."

He continued: "You look at the likes of Cian and Mack, who were new into the Irish squad. They've come back different animals altogether. They're speaking a lot more in meetings, become a lot more vocal. Having them lads come in and bring a bit of leadership in our group is brilliant.

"Then you've the likes of Bundee and Finlay, who have been long-time leaders in Connacht rugby, coming back as well. Just having them with the group this week is going to give us an extra boost of confidence going down to South Africa.

"We know how tough it is down there but when we have a strong squad like this we can go with a lot of confidence."

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