It won’t be another Brive encounter..

CONNACHT coach Kieran Keane has warned his men they will face a much tougher test from Ulster this evening than from the Brive side they put to the sword over the past two weekends.

But with full-back Tiernan O’halloran signing a contract extension yesterday, Keane is hopeful they can get their festive programme off to a flying start.

O’halloran has given them the perfect boost by following in Kieran Marmion’s footsteps and committing his future to the province.

Linked with a move to Munster to replace Simon Zebo, O’halloran said he was delighted to remain at The Sportsground. “I am a proud Connacht man and am delighted to be extending my contract with my home province for a further two years. The current squad is an ambitious group and we are determined to bring further success to Connacht,” said the 26-year-old who has chalked up 138 Westerners appearances.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Connacht supporters who have been loyal to me and the entire team season after season.”

Connacht, like Ulster and the other two provinces, head into the new schedule of three festive derbies on the back of successive wins in Europe.

But Keane knows Les Kiss’ men will present a much stiffer test than they faced in the Challenge Cup against Brive.

He said: “Without a doubt they will be a totally different equation from Brive. We know a little bit about Ulster, with this modern day game there is a lot of analysis done and we have got our plans in place.

“You have to step up to the mark or you are going to get second by some distance. That’s the challenge and I’m pretty sure whoever gets picked in the 23 will take up the baton for that challenge. I would be pretty disappointed if they didn’t.”

Keane was pleased by a lot of what he saw in the 38-31 win in Brive and then the 55-10 victory at The Sportsground last weekend.

But he has made seven changes to the side with four alterations in the backline where Ireland international scrum-half Kieran Marmion comes in alongside Tom Farrell at inside centre.

O’halloran starts at full-back while Niyi Adeolokun is on the right wing and four-try hero from last week, Matt Healy, continues on the left wing.