Connacht keep their cool in Siberia
More than 6,000km from Ireland and with temperatures dropping to -18C, Connacht were forced into a lively start against Enisei, the first Russian club to play in the group stages of a European competition.
On his first start for Connacht, USA international flyhalf AJ MacGinty kicked two first-half penalties at the snow-powdered pitch of Krasnoyarsk's Central Stadium.
MacGinty's Russian counterpart Yury Kushnarev missed an early chance before the American stretched the Irish province's lead with a third penalty in the second period.
Connacht, perhaps better accustomed to the biting cold, then moved up a gear, wing Niyi Adeolokun and skipper John Muldoon each crossing for a try in two crucial minutes that took the visitors out to a 19-0 lead over Ensei, which started off life in the mid-1970s as the team of a hulking local factory churning out heavy machinery for the vast Soviet empire.
Enisei, spurred on by 4,000 fans in their 25,000-seater stadium, poured into attack, but to no avail against the weakest of the four Irish provinces.
Fullback Darragh Leader scored Connacht's third try before replacement prop Andrei Polivanov made history when he crossed for Enisei-STM's first try in the 73rd minute.
Kushnarev converted to reduce the arrears, but Connacht bagged a bonus point when Rory Parata went over for the visiting team's fourth try, converted by Leader.
There was time, however, for the home side to have the final word, Polivanov notching up his second try, also converted by Kushnarev as the game wound down.
As the harsh Siberian winter sets in, Enisei will now switch their next two home group games against French club Brive and English side Newcastle Falcons to the considerably warmer climes of the resort city of Sochi, far to the west on Russia's Black Sea coast.
The scorers:
For Enisei:
Tries: Polivalov 2
Cons: Kushnarev 2
For Connacht:
Tries: Adeolokun, Muldoon, Leader, Parata
Con: Leader
Pens: MacGinty 3
Enisei: 15 Iurii Kushnarev, 14 Mikhail Babaev, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Dmitrii Gerasimov, 11 Denis Simplikevich, 10 Ramil Gaisin, 9 Jurijs Baranovs (captain), 8 Dmitrii Krotov, 7 Andrey Temnov, 6 Vitalii Orlov, 5 Viacheslav Krasylnyk, 4 Uldis Saulite, 3 Innokentiy Zykov, 2 Stanislav Selskii, 1 Aleksandr Bezverkhov.
Replacements: 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: 15 Darragh Leader, 14 Rory Parata, 13 Bundee Aki, 12 Peter Robb, 11 Niyi Adeolokun, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Ian Porter, 8 George Naoupu, 7 James Connolly, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Aly Muldowney, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Shane Delahunt, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 David Heffernan, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Conan O'Donnell, 19 Danny Qualter, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Craig Ronaldson.
Referee: Sébastien Minery
Assistant Referees: Arnaud Blondel, Sergey Murashkin
