IT’S A PRACTICALLY balmy -8°C in Krasnoyarsk where Connacht have touched down ahead of their European Challenge Cup opener.
Pat Lam’s squad arrived in Siberia on Wednesday morning after a marathon 6,000km journey which took two flights and nine hours.
Lam has brought plenty of new faces along for the ride with Peter Robb and Sean O’Brien both in line to win their first provincial caps against Enisei-STM on Saturday afternoon.
Academy colleagues James Connolly, Shane Delahunt, Conan O’Donnell and Rory Parata are also in the 24-man travelling party.