Well very happy with my trip, I needed this bit of rejoice..

First 1h30 training session

- play with the ball first : A kick, Friends indicates a number of bounce(s), and the opposite player has to catch
- lots of lineout work then : Macksymiw and Thornbury called in Roux absence
- very few scrum tests, I guess it'll be more later in preseason
- final 25 min was full phases, but short ones, 30 secs then whistle blowing. tackles weren't fully completed, but wasn't "touch rugby" either


the day after, gametime

- as said Oyonnax is 1 week to start, we're far from this especially this year because of RWC , they are way way more advanced in their preparation. +They a decent team, probably close to low-tier pro14, Zebre or Dragons, if not better... I expected a heavy loss TBF
- as a consequence scrum suffered with Burke/McCoy. Was stable with Buckley/Bealham in 2nd half
- lineout is indeed the main point to work on, smth like 4 darts lost out of 10, no ball won on theirs
- Blade won't make Marmion absence felt, he's great. Llyod speed and box-kicks aren't the same
- 2nd half team was more up to it in collisions. Butler/Fainga'a made a difference, my MOTM IMO. In the back-line TOH was lively and clinical under high balls
- defence is a real good surprise, Oyonnax scored only once, even if they could have done so 2 or 3 times it was positive, no big holes
- only a bit fragile close to the rucks, and John Porsh may need a few more weeks to adapt for tackles, as Healy/Niyi have succeded to do at their time
- Horwitz had really monster kicks to touch, Godwin was only used as centre and wing, so David or Fitzgerald are our likely starting 10 for a month waiting for Carty
- Bealham only played LH for 10 minutes, and Connacht pack was scrummaging with 7 because of Copeland yellow card, so nothing to get out of this...
- I think we're in good shape, but we may struggle with physicality against Montpellier Saffers for exemple. Maybe Roux and SOB will be just crucial to match them. Daly brought this power as 12 during 2nd half, too

Everyone seems to feel all good in the squad, and the staff (absolutely the kindest as usual) are confident our 3 guys will make the final cut for RWC
And to conclude, thank you to all players I've had a little chat with, was so pleasant and friendly!

Yes extended unofficial highlights from Oyonnax supporter too on twitter

my summary to come

Connacht Rugby Twitter has footage of the two tries.

Will there be a match report??

connachta wrote: Connachta had to drive by night... From Oyonnax of course

I did not only go to the game but to the training session on thusday too!

Any standouts?

Connachta had to drive by night... From Oyonnax of course

I did not only go to the game but to the training session on thusday too!

Where’s Connachta???

The match is WAY outside the GBFM rugby budget, but I believe Connacht will be live tweeting

Anybody know if Galway bay are covering the game, or anyone else for that matter, or will it be twitter updates for the evening.

Below is the group travelling to France for this weekend's friendly.
Connacht squad:

Forwards: Finlay Bealham, Paul Boyle, Denis Buckley, Matthew Burke, Rory Burke, Jarrad Butler, Robin Copeland, Colby Fainga’a, Cillian Gallagher, Dave Heffernan, Tom McCartney, Ultan Dillane, Joe Maksymiw, Eoghan Masterson, Sean Masterson, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, Gavin Thornbury.

Backs: Niyi Adeolokun, Caolin Blade, Tom Daly, Conor Fitzgerald, Kyle Godwin, Matt Healy, David Horwitz, Darragh Leader, Angus Lloyd, Seán O’Brien, Tiernan O’Halloran, John Porch, Peter Robb.