Thought they were saying it was a sell out though. Maybe they were just being optimistic!

Maybe they were on about the capacity?

Where's the rest of the 20000 people?? Bloody russian propaganda!

The ground looks pretty frozen still. Thought that they had underground heating for the pitch? The new report yesterday showed a pitch in much better condition.

They seem very good at rucking but we have them everywhere else so far?

Don't underestimate the cold here- if you're not moving the cold takes hold. We haven't a clue what true cold is in Ireland!

EPCR giving this as a link for live streaming:

Connacht team suits me, except Buckley starting again. And again...

wp_rathead wrote: Invalid consumer key/secret in configuration

Ref change due to "unforseen circumstances " - there will be a Russian assistant referee now

The lnr ref page is somewhat out of date, but the replacement ref - Sebastien Minery - is far more experienced that the guy originally slated to ref.

Invalid consumer key/secret in configuration

Ref change due to "unforseen circumstances " - there will be a Russian assistant referee now

Enisei will play without their 3 new signings (NZ fullback Robbie Malneek, and SA props Lawrence Cleminson et George Marich)

Line up :

15. Iurii Kushnarev;
14. Mikhail Babaev,
13. David Kacharava,
12. Dmitrii Gerasimov,
11. Denis Simplikevich;
10. Ramil Gaisin,
9. Jurijs Baranovs (c);

1. Aleksandr Bezverkhov,
2. Stanislav Selskii,
3. Innokentiy Zykov,
4. Uldis Saulite,
5. Viacheslav Krasylnyk,
6. Vitalii Orlov,
7. Andrey Temnov,
8. Dmitrii Krotov

16. Nazir Gasanov,
17. Andrei Polivalov,
18. Evgenii Pronenko,
19. Evgeny Elgin,
20. Sergey Kuzmenko,
21. Alexey Shcherban,
22. Dmitriy Simonov,
23. Anton Rudoi

Connacht team to face Enisei-STM

Pat Lam has named his side for Connacht’s opening round of the European Rugby Challenge Cup and the first game in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

21-year-old Academy centre Peter Robb makes his Connacht debut tomorrow afternoon, starting in a midfield partnership with Bundee Aki.

USA international outhalf AJ MacGinty starts for the first time with Ian Porter making up the half back pairing.

Up front, John Muldoon captains the side from a backrow featuring George Naoupu and Academy flanker James Connolly who makes his season debut, having played in three European games last season.

From the replacements bench, Academy forward and Galway-born Sean O’Brien is in line to earn his first Connacht cap while it will be a season debut for Danny Qualter and Caolin Blade should they be called upon.

Commenting on the team selection and the upcoming game, Pat Lam said:

“We said from the start that this was going to be a massive mental challenge for everybody involved but I must say that the boys have handled the challenges thrown at them really well so far. We have adjusted to the environment as best we can in three days and have done all the necessary preparation ahead of tomorrow’s game.

“We talked a lot about the weather but I think we underestimated how cold it actually would be. It was a shock to all of us. Tomorrow it could hit as low as -22 degrees, so again it’s another test of our mental toughness.

“This is a big test for the guys selected tomorrow but if we nail our detail and have the right mindset, we will put pressure on a side that will be hugely motivated in their first European game.

“We appreciate how important it was for Enisei to have a game in their home city. It’s an historical game as the team located furthest west meets the team furthest east and we’re proud and excited to be a part of it.

“It’s been a fascinating few days, and a lot of hard work has gone into getting us here. Now, it’s all about fronting up tomorrow.”

Connacht team to face Enisei-STM

15 Darragh LEADER

14 Rory PARATA

13 Bundee AKI

12 Peter ROBB

11 Niyi ADEOLOKUN

10 AJ MACGINTY

9 Ian PORTER



1 Denis BUCKLEY

2 Shane DELAHUNT

3 Finlay BEALHAM

4 Ultan DILLANE

5 Aly MULDOWNEY

6 John MULDOON (captain)

7 James CONNOLLY

8 George NAOUPU



Replacements:

16 Dave HEFFERNAN

17 Ronan LOUGHNEY

18 Conan O’DONNELL

19 Danny QUALTER

20 Sean O’BRIEN

21 Caolin BLADE

22 Jack CARTY

23 Craig RONALDSON



Enisei-STM v Connacht Rugby
14th November 2015
Central Stadium
Kick off 3pm local time (8am Irish time)
Referee Thomas Charabas (France)

I will say from looking at recent temperatures there it has not been as cold as it is currently so the under soil heating system should stand a fighting chance but there's no getting around the fact that it can't be comfortable playing under the expected cold conditions. I wonder if the players will be able to move fast enough to cause any injuries.

Some of the pictures coming from Russia have me worried about injuries. I understand the pitch has under soil heating, but how effective is that? And it must be very hard to warm up in that environment, particularly for subs coming on.

I can see the headlines now

"Connacht game in Siberia breaks internet"

beatthedeck wrote: I went to its and am getting a countdown clock for the game, so seems to be working grand, but if that changes I've hola downloaded on chrome so hopefully that will work if they block it.

Hola is incredibly dangerous, I suggest you, and anyone else who has it installed, remove it immediately.

adios-hola.org/