Evenin’ all. And a fine sport-filled evening it is too. You’ve had the Grand National, The Masters will be on all night, so stick with us for a wee while to watch Connacht take on Bernard Jackman’s Grenoble in the Challenge Cup knock-out stage.

Tell us all your thoughts on the game, hit us on Facebook, Twitter @Rugby_ie or in the comments sections below.

Before we go any further, we have further Connacht injury news to break to you gently. Having stepped in for the injured Jake Heenan, Eoin McKeon has now been ruled out himself through illness. So James Connolly will now fill the openside berth.

George Naoupu comes on to the bench.

In the comments section, Mark O’Leary has beaten me to the TV listings. You still have time to get some dinner in you before John Muldoon goes to war for the umpteenth time this season.

Here are those revised team-sheets. Keep an eye out for powerful Irish centre Chris Farrell for the hosts.

Grenoble

15. Gio Aplon
14. Tino Nemani
13. Chris Farrell
12. Nigel Hunt
11. Lucas Dupont
10. Jonathan Wisniewski
9. Charl McLeod

1. Sona Taumalolo
2. Loick Jammes
3. Dayna Edwards
4. Ben Hand (captain)
5. Peter Kimlin
6. Steven Setephano
7. Mahamadou Diaby
8. Rory Grice

Replacements:

16. Paulin Mas
17. Fabien Barcella
18. Rossouw de Klerk
19. Mathias Marie
20. Fabien Alexandre
21. Lilian Saseras
22. Fabrice Estebanez
23. Fabien Gengenbacher

Connacht

15. Matt Healy
14. Niyi Adeolokun
13. Robbie Henshaw
12. Bundee Aki
11. Danie Poolman
10. Shane O’Leary
9. Kieran Marmion

1. Denis Buckley
2. Tom McCartney
3. Finlay Bealham
4. Ultan Dillane
5. Andrew Browne
6. Sean O’Brien
7. James Connolly
8. John Muldoon (captain)

Replacements:

16. Dave Heffernan
17. Ronan Loughney
18. JP Cooney
19. Quinn Roux
20. George Naoupu
21. John Cooney
22. Peter Robb
23. Fionn Carr

Connacht deign to maul and go wide early to stretch Grenoble. They go back and Browne is hit behind the gainline. On the next phase Grenoble turn over and Gio Aplon clears.

KICK-OFF: Shane O’Leary gets us under way. A solid deep restart to put the hosts under pressure.

OOOF! Adeolokun takes a kick without breaking a stride but is instantly ploughed by a tackler. Excellent clash.

Great atmosphere in Stade des Alpes at the minute. Brass band filling the few gaps in crowd enthusiasm.

Connacht’s defence holding up to some serious pressure. And when they turn it over in the 22, they show their attacking teeth with a superb break up the left setting Bundee Aki in to space.

The centre makes the opposition 22, but he’s caught and penalised for holding on.

Chris Farrell putting in a good shift in terms of carries and breakdown input. Grenoble scupper their own attack on the 22 though as Jammes tries to run for the line after being tackled and downed.

TRY! Grenoble 0 Connacht 7 (Adeolokun ’20)

A sensational Connacht try. Bundee Aki spun a beautiful ball to the right with the home defence stretched and Niyi Adeolokun grabbed hold of the ball with the look of a man who wasn’t going to be caught under any circumstances.

Shane O’Leary adds the conversion.

The pace of this game is relentless.

Grenoble back in attack mode and they force a penalty in front of the posts… but McLeod taps it and they go wide. The try line is gaping for Lucas Dupont AND HE SPILLS IT.

Connacht Scrum V

Our man in the Alps is enjoying himself no end.

Connacht have calmed a little since taking the lead, but Grenoble still look incredibly dangerous. Hunt and Farrell making holes every time they get the ball. Every collision is absolutely frantic.

The pressure just stretched Connacht to breaking point and a loose ball was pushed back and Diaby was one of many spare numbers on Grenoble’s left flank.

TMO check…

NO TRY!

Early tackle called on McCartney instead and Wisniewski can put his side on the board.

PENALTY! Grenoble 3 Connacht 7  (Wisniewski ’21)

TRY! Grenoble 3 Connacht 12 (Henshaw’ 23)

That is an absolute wonder-try.

Matt Healy has taken his incredibly elusive footwork to the European stage. He danced his way through about five tackles before being caught on the 22. Marmion kept the play alive and Connacht flash the ball wide to the left where BIG ROBBIE HENSHAW was on hand to finish..

TRY! Grenoble 3 Connacht 19 (Adeolokun ’28)

Aboslutely sensational. Connacht execute perfectly from a line-out on the left, setting Healy away on the right and he gets the ball away to that man Adeolokun.

The Westerners are running riot.

Just before that score, Grenoble were forced in to a change. Rory Grice is replaced by Fabien Alexandre.

The first chink in the shiny Connacht armour. Shane O’Leary, who converted well minutes ago, attempts a cross-field kick in his own 22. The ball goes into touch and Lam’s men are under pressure.

TRY! Grenoble 10 Connacht 19 (Wisniewski ’33)

The hosts punish O’Leary and Connacht for their fearlessness in the 22. The maul makes inroads before Wisniewski finally finds a gap in the Connacht defence line and steps under the posts.

Can we draw breath in these few seconds without a try being scored to say what an absolutely brilliant game this is. Neither side treating this as ‘just’ the Challenge Cup, but nor are they being constrained by nerves and fear of mistakes. Thrilling stuff.

Connacht just starting to rack up penalties. Another given away on the 22. We may soon be in to warning territory.

PENALTY! Grenoble 13 Connacht 19 (Wisniewski ’36)

Fionn Carr has joined the party, replacing Danie Poolman.

Now there’s a scrum. Grenoble have put a serious squeeze on the Connacht pack in midfield, drove them back two or three metres and win a penalty.

Some incredible rugby on display from Connacht, but they live by the sword and concede points by it to. A less adventurous team would have shut up shop after taking a 19 – 3 lead. Connacht keep playing and we love them for it.

PENALTY! Grenoble 16 Connacht 19 (Wisniewski ’40)

And that’s half-time, folks.

Here we go then, second half and a slender advantage for Pat Lam’s Connacht.3

TRY! Grenoble 16 Connacht 26 (Healy ’42)

Unreal.

Grenoble look like they’re amping it up for the half with a maul racing forward like it’s on rails. But once it stops, Connacht force a turnover and punish the missing men. Once Matt Healy is put in to space there is absolutely no stopping him.

O’Leary adds a brilliant conversion from the right.

O’Leary again tries to generate something out of nothing on his 22 line, his chip is picked off by the sweeper who kicks behind the Connacht D. Aki wins the race to touch down though, so no harm done this time.

O’Leary getting a chance to display his deft kicking talents in the opposition half now. Excellent weighted ball in behind for Adeolokun to chase. The Nigerian-born ex-Trinity wing is having a stunning night.

PENALTY! Grenoble 16 Connacht 29 (O’Leary ’53)

There we go. A massively important scrum win and the penalty comes for Connacht in the 22. They’ll actually do something boring and conventional now… kick at goal.

Ultan Dillane quietly putting in a mighty day’s work out there. He’s been well-marshaled, but carrying solidly and giving Connacht that quick ball they thrive on.

Sean O’Brien was quizzed for a minute by the ref after falling out of a ruck holding his head. But he hasn’t been sent for  HIA. From our angle, he should have been.

The crowd are baying for blood – or cards at least – after Aki goes off his feet to slow Grenoble attack down. Ref gives a warning and Grenoble head for the corner. Let’s see what Paulie has cooked up.

Terrific maul sets a runner round the fringe on the try-line.

TMO calls it no try, but Denis Buckley didn’t try to get onside.

SIN-BIN: Denis Buckley 

We’re set to scrum, so Ronan Loughney has to come on as a temporary replacement. James Connolly is the man called ashore and Bundee Aki thrown in the back row.

Quinn Roux has also entered the fray in place of Ultan Dillane.

TRY! Grenoble 23 Connacht 29 (Dupont ’61)

Textbook execution from Grenoble. They keep the forwards honest in the scrum but whip it wide to Hunt, he straightens and gets hit hard, but not before he gets a pass away from Dupont and he takes the line inside the last defender.

Wisniewski adds the extras.

The lack of frontline out-halves just rears its head again as O’Leary kicks the restart dead. Connacht need to be much more pragmatic than their usual selves to see out this sin-bin period.

Huge call from Pat Lam. He’s sent Peter Robb on in place of O’Leary. Robbie Henshaw will see out this game at out-half.

Sean O’Brien looks sharp despite the knock earlier. He makes a good square man and ball hit to stunt grenoble’s progress on the left. But they go right and have men over…

Diaby is over the line again, but it looks like dogged defence may have held him up.

TRY! Grenoble 30 Connacht 29 (Diaby ’70)

The efforts of the covering tacklers just wasn’t enough and Diaby got the ball on the line before he was turned. Jonathan Wisniewski and shows all his class with a nerveless touchline conversion from the right.

Connacht can hit back straight away. A coach-killer as Grenoble concede a kick in front of the posts.  But who’ll take it…

PENALTY!  Grenoble 30 Connacht 32 (John Cooney ’72)

Grenoble back in the Connacht 22. Penalty-concession not an option at this time of the game.

DROP-GOAL! Grenoble 33 Connacht 32 (Wisniewski ’75)

Can Connacht eke out one more chance with this makeshift back-line? Grenoble kick to Henshaw. They’ll attack from their 10 metre line.

They run out of space and are forced into touch, but Grenoble knock the ball on before they can set the maul in motion.

Connacht have a scrum 10 metres inside the Grenoble half on the right flank.

Hold. On. To. Your. Hats.

Excellent line speed from Grenoble. Superb effort at this stage of the game and it forces Connacht back to halfway. 30 seconds on the clock.

Fionn Carr made a huge midfield break. Sidestepped the cover tackler, but not the second. Connacht building pressure on the 22.

more big hits pile in from Grenoble and they win a penalty as a white shirt goes off his feet.

WHAT A GAME, what a shame Connacht came undone over the course of this epic.

FULL-TIME! Grenoble 33 Connacht 32