CONNACHT HAVE BEEN unable to bring their trusty mascot ‘Eddie the Eagle’ with them on their marathon journey to Siberia but the squad have improvised and purchased a special edition ‘Eddie’ before they left Ireland to see them through the trip.
And the youngest member of the travelling party, Sligo native Conan O’Donnell, has been put in charge of the new mascot with strict instructions to show him the sights of Krasnoyarsk.
The 19-year old was presented with the new mascot shortly after take-off on board the first leg of Connacht’s charter flight to Siberian from Shannon to Moscow.
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“I will bring him everywhere with me on the trip,” vowed the tighthead who featured for the Irish U20 side this year.
But there was almost a diplomatic incident when Connacht’s flight landed in icy Krasnoyarsk shortly before noon and there was no sign of ‘Eddie’.
However, a quick search of the plane saw Eddie reunited with his heroes as they adjusted to the minus six Celcius conditions.
Winter sunshine and the absence of a wind meant that it was not a difficult adjustment for Connacht, although they opted to train indoors in the afternoon.
Their new mascot was on the bus as they headed to an indoor basketball court where they did a light training session to offset the marathon 5,800km journey from Shannon.
Connacht have settled into their Hilton Gardens Hotel in the suburbs of Krasnoyarsk, a city of one million people.
A huge crowd is expected at the 22,500 capacity Central Stadium on Saturday afternoon for the historic clash between Pat Lam’s men and Enisei-STM.
It will be the first European rugby game to be played in Russia and posters advertising the game can be seen throughout the city.
Letter from Russia - Where's Eddie the Eagle?
By John Fallon in Krasnoyarsk
CONNACHT HAVE BEEN unable to bring their trusty mascot ‘Eddie the Eagle’ with them on their marathon journey to Siberia but the squad have improvised and purchased a special edition ‘Eddie’ before they left Ireland to see them through the trip.
And the youngest member of the travelling party, Sligo native Conan O’Donnell, has been put in charge of the new mascot with strict instructions to show him the sights of Krasnoyarsk.
The 19-year old was presented with the new mascot shortly after take-off on board the first leg of Connacht’s charter flight to Siberian from Shannon to Moscow.
“I will bring him everywhere with me on the trip,” vowed the tighthead who featured for the Irish U20 side this year.
But there was almost a diplomatic incident when Connacht’s flight landed in icy Krasnoyarsk shortly before noon and there was no sign of ‘Eddie’.
However, a quick search of the plane saw Eddie reunited with his heroes as they adjusted to the minus six Celcius conditions.
Winter sunshine and the absence of a wind meant that it was not a difficult adjustment for Connacht, although they opted to train indoors in the afternoon.
Their new mascot was on the bus as they headed to an indoor basketball court where they did a light training session to offset the marathon 5,800km journey from Shannon.
Connacht have settled into their Hilton Gardens Hotel in the suburbs of Krasnoyarsk, a city of one million people.
A huge crowd is expected at the 22,500 capacity Central Stadium on Saturday afternoon for the historic clash between Pat Lam’s men and Enisei-STM.
It will be the first European rugby game to be played in Russia and posters advertising the game can be seen throughout the city.
Simon Zebo and Paddy Jackson are back with another epic lip-sync rap video
Brrrr, it’s cold out here! Connacht have touched down in sub-zero Siberia
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Connacht Connacht Effin eddie European Challenge Cup Yenisey-STM Krasnoyarsk