Connacht return to the Galway Sportsground on Saturday (5pm ) to host French outfit Brive in the second of this season’s European Challenge Cup fixtures.
After a week in Siberia where they posted a 31-14 win over Enisei-STM, Connacht will be looking to continue their lead of pool one, while Brive arrive after a 14-9 victory over Newcastle Falcons.
Connacht’s three-day return from Russia has caused havoc with their preparations for this fixture, and much will depend on how some players recover.
“It’s a big game this week at home,” says Pat Lam. “The plan was to have 15 guys at home, we probably had about 13. As a result some of the guys, depending on how they recover, will have to front up again and others will go on the bench.
“We had a game plan for these few weeks because we knew the effect of the travel and transition, so the boys at home have been working on that.”
Players who did not travel to Russia include Andrew Browne, Nepia Fox-Matamua, Eoghan Masterson, O’Halloran, Robbie Henshaw, and Kieran Marmion, while injured players who are expected to be fit include Tiernan O’Halloran, Danie Poolman, Fionn Carr and Ben Marshall. Jack Carty, who was a replacement in Krasnoyarsk, is expected to be named at outhalf.
