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Connacht coach Eric Elwood will be hoping to continue the momentum set in last month’s final round of Challenge Cup games when they host the Scarlets on Saturday (7.35pm).

Connacht coach Eric Elwood will spend part of the next two weeks in camp with the Ireland A squad. The Wolfhounds, as they are known, play Scotland A on the Friday before Ireland’s Six Nations opener in Italy.

After a torrid period of narrow defeats Connacht lifted the gloom in Bayonne last Saturday evening with a surprise 35-21 victory away to the high flying Basque side. The westerners built up an early lead, withstood a strong fightback and finished with two well taken tries in the final ten minutes to take a memorable victory.

It was a familiar feeling at the Sportsground on Monday evening as Munster reasserted their dominance over Connacht with a typically defiant victory over their western neighbours.

Despite the big freeze Connacht are expecting the St Stephen’s Day Magners League clash with Munster to go ahead at the Sportsground. Weather forecasts suggest a thaw on Christmas Day and the straw which helped prevent the frost setting in for Friday night’s clash with Harlequins has been put down again and for the moment at least appears to be working according to Connacht CEO Gerry Kelly.

Connacht will be looking to get back to winning ways in the Sportsground on St Stephen’s Day when they take on Munster in the Magners League, but Eric Elwood’s charges will have to do so without the services of their inspirational captain John Muldoon. The 28-year-old Connacht forward suffered another injury in a season that has been blighted with setbacks. In Connacht’s Amlin Challenge Cup defeat at home to Harlequins the Portumna native broke his arm, it is the second time this year he has suffered from a broken arm, he broke it against New Zealand in the first of the summer tour tests in the southern hemisphere. However it is hoped that the break is not as serious as the one he sustained on international duty and he will be back in action in number of weeks as opposed to months.

A home win has become a major priority for Connacht when they host Harlequins in this evenings return European match at the Galway Sportsground (7pm). Although Connacht are unlikely to qualify from this year’s Amlin Cup pool, having lost two of their three matches, Elwood believes there is more at stake for his players, particularly as they head into a crucial Christmas period with the traditional interprovincial clashes against Munster and Leinster.

Just days before Connacht head into the critical Christmas period, coach Eric Elwood has been forced to contemplate the possible loss of three key players next season.

A home win has become a major priority for Connacht when they host Harlequins in tomorrow’s return European match at the Galway Sportsground (7pm).

Connacht and Harlequins renew European rivalry on Sunday when the two sides meet at the Twickenham Stoop in this season’s Amlin Challenge Cup third round.