MAYO football manager Kevin McStay has briefed Connacht rugby players and management about what to expect in Castlebar this weekend. The Westerners will play Munster in front of a capacity crowd of 26,000 in a URC clash at MacHale Park on Saturday afternoon. And as this is the home side’s first-ever competitive fixture in the Green and Red county, Mayo boss McStay interrupted his busy schedule to help them prepare for the historic tie. With Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins still on sick leave, Colm Tucker remains in charge of team affairs. And the Limerick native said the help from McStay --— who is preparing for Sunday’s Allianz League Division 1 decider against Kerry in Croke Park — was a massive boost. Scrum and contact coach Tucker said: “Friday will be the first time we will have a session there. “We actually had Kevin McStay with us this morning, just to chat a little bit around it. “So that was brilliant for the people to hear around MacHale Park and around Mayo and how they approach things. “That was a lovely presentation from him and we were very appreciative of him sharing his thoughts and wisdom with us. It was fantastic. “I think it’s, first of all, acknowledging it by having somebody like Kevin in to explain the background of the stadium and the importance of Mayo GAA to Connacht Rugby and the relationship there. And then it’s just process-driven from there, really. You know, it’s an inter-pro as well, which obviously adds another layer.” Saturday’s sell-out promises to be the largest-ever crowd this Connacht squad has hosted. And a win would be a major boost to their chances of making the URC knockout stages. There is also the prospect of lucrative Champions Cup rugby at stake next season, when the Westerners plan to unveil their €40million redeveloped Dexcom Stadium in Galway. But despite the pressures, Tucker’s players are desperate to play. He said: “There’s some disappointed guys who I have spoken to. It’s tough on them but it’s professional sport and we’ve put what we feel is the best 23 on the pitch for the weekend and these are the guys we believe in. “As a squad, it’s up to all of them to help prepare those guys to be in the best position to play on Saturday and to represent the province and represent the club. The whole squad has a huge role this week, a massive role.” Tucker expects his experienced international players to take the lead in training as this is a week “when leaders need to step up”. With Mack Hansen, Bundee Aki, Finlay Bealham and skipper Cian Prendergast returning, the coach said: “You have to lean on the experience and the international quality you have in your group. “They’ve already started playing a huge role in the week and I’m sure they’ll play a massive role on Saturday for us. It’s a massively exciting week. “Obviously Munster, first of all, is a huge challenge, they’re welcoming back their internationals as well I’m sure, so they’ll be much improved from their trip to Glasgow, even though they had some pockets of great rugby. “And then for us it’s going to MacHale Park, 26,000 people, sold out very quickly within an hour and a massive spread of ticket sales across all five counties. “It’s a massively exciting day for the club. “You’re into the business end of the season and the race for the top eight is increasing every week. “Every team seems to be beating each other and all the games at the weekend, there was only a score between them. “So there’s been fantastic rugby played, I’m sure most teams will be looking at shoring up defensively, which would be a massive focus on a lot of teams this week. “But all of the teams are capable of beating each other on any given day so it’s making for a very exciting URC.” NO NEW NAMES Tucker also explained that Connacht have not brought in any additional coaches to help cope with the continued absence of Wilkins. Lineout and maul coach John Muldoon, defence chief Scott Fardy and attack coach Mark Sexton have stepped up to the plate. Tucker added: “We’ve kept to what we have ourselves. Myself, Scott Fardy, John Mul and Mark Sexton. The four of us are just leading the group for this week. “A little bit of a dissemination of duties around us a little bit more, but the four of us are very clear in how we want to play and how we want to approach the game. We’re going to be leading it. “We think we have covered a lot of bases and feel we have a lot of experience between the four of us, a lot of good rugby knowledge, and leaning heavily on the leadership group here, we feel we’ll have the team in a good place to perform on Saturday.”