After announcing the squads Bester said, “Connacht and Saracens will be fielding very strong sides and they will prove to be difficult tests, but we are looking to win both games.

“Connacht will be a tough challenge as they will be fielding their first team squad. They suffered a creditable narrow defeat last week in Narbonne and this will be their last outing before they start their Celtic League campaign.

“Saracens will also provide a stern test for the boys and they too will have all their big names available. But if we compete the way I know we can, then it is definitely a winnable game.

“We will be adopting a positive approach in every game we take part in and the emphasis this season is on the result. Performance is always important but we are past the development stage now and results are what matter the most.

“I am happy with our pre-season preparation albeit within a limited timeframe. We have learnt a lot from last season and it will be interesting to see how we cope this year. We have one goal and one goal only and that is winning the division!”

Rotherham squad for Connacht

15 Tom Outram, 14 Geoff Griffiths, 13 Tom Allen, 12 John Buchanan, 11 Rudolf Froneman, 10 Gareth Steenson (V/C), 9   Jamie Blackwood, 1 Sam Walsh, 2 Neil Hanna (Capt), 3 Steve Croall, 4 Louis McGowan, 5 Tim Maslanyk, 6 James Waterhouse, 7 Michael McComish, 8 Henry Head

Replacements:

16 Duncan Richardson, 17 Michael Kirkwood, 18 John Cox, 19 Johny Larby, 20 James Sutton, 21 TBA, 22 TBA

Connacht coach Michael Bradley and his assistant Eric Elwood have named the following squad to play the Titans at the Hallam University Grounds in Rotherham.

Connacht squad:

B Wilkinson, S Knoop, M Diffley, J Fogarty, A Flavin, A Farley, B O'Connor, D Gannon, M Swift, J Muldoon, C Rigney, M Lacey, P Warwick, M McHugh, D Slemen, T Tierney, C Keane, D Riordan, C McPhillips, D Yapp, K Matthews, J Hearty.

Rotherham squad for Saracens

15 Brendan Burke, 14 Jon Feeley, 13 Brian Touhy, 12 Bernard Hennessey, 11 Showan Smith, 10 Mike Whitehead, 9 Joe Bedford (V/C), 1 Jarleth Carey, 2 Nigel Conroy, 3 Adam Hopcroft, 4 Jannie Bornman, 5 Erik Lund, 6 Hendre Fourie, 7 Neil Cochrane (Capt), 8 Barry Jacobsz

Replacements: TBA