Connacht 31 Enisei STM 14

Connacht’s Siberian trek produced a worthy 31-14 victory over new entrants Enisei-STM in an historic first European fixture in Russia.

Four tries - all in the second half - ensured Pat Lam’s squad gained the maximum from this difficult encounter at Central Stadium in Krasnoyarsk.

In -18 degree temperatures, this pool one Challenge Cup fixture was played on a pitch that only minutes kick off had been covered in snow. And it took both sides time to adapt to the challenging conditions with the visitors edging the opening 40 minutes by 6-0 from two AJ MacGinty penalties kicked at the beginning and end of the half.

Connacht’s superiority in the scrum provided the platform for the opening penalty kicked after six minutes when the hosts were forced to pull down an unstoppable roling maul.

However Enisei-STM kept Connacht on their toes with some superb work at the breakdown, and created opportunities. However fullback Lurii Kushnarev failed to add a three pointer from a breakdown penalty and Darragh Leader did well to turn and cover an Enisei attack.

Connacht added a second penalty in the 36th minute when centre David Karcharava was pinged for offside to give Connacht a narrow lead.

However Connacht produced a superb effort in the second half which started with a third penalty and was quickly followed by the first try, once again coming from a solid scrum with Niyi Adeolokun crossing out wide.

Three minutes later captain John Muldoon got over in the opposite corner after Aki cut open the defense. Dominating both possession and territory, Connacht made it count with a third try when Aki supplied Darragh Leader out wide.

The home side, having been starved of possession, staged a late comeback with two tries, but Connacht ensured the bonus point, Rory Parata latching onto a well executed kick to dive over.