CONNACHT HAVE BEEN sent to Siberia after losing a game of Russian roulette.
Pat Lam’s men face the nightmare 12,000km round-trip to Krasnoyarsk in Siberia in November after being drawn to face Russian newcomers Enisei-STM in the European Challenge Cup.
Connacht drew the short straw at a draw in the EPCR headquarters at Neuchatel in Switzerland, and face the difficult trip to Siberia for the opening round of the Challenge Cup in November.
The Russian champions wanted their pool games in their home city Krasnoyarsk, which is five hours east of Moscow.
A compromise was reached that they would play one of their pool games there and the other two at the more accessible Winter Olympic city of Sochi, close to the Georgian border.
Weather conditions will also play against Connacht, with the average daily temperature in Krasnoyarsk as low as -3 degrees, and the average nighttime temperatures falling to around -10.
It is believed that the EPCR will assist Connacht in travelling to Siberia, probably by providing a charter flight, but it will still be an arduous task for Lam’s men, with a seven hour time difference to be factored into a journey which will be ten hours, not including stops.
Connacht, Brive and Newcastle Falcons watched on Skype as the draw, which was overseen by a legal scrutineer, took place in Neuchatel.
The EPCR are expected to soon announce the Pool 1 fixtures for the Challenge Cup.
