Letter from Russia: We've been to Siberia but we've never been to Scotland

John Fallon reports from Krasnoyarsk

A good one for the Instagram archives of John Muldoon, George Naoupu, Aly Muldowney and Finlay Bealham. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

CONNACHT HAVE PLAYED more games in the Challenge Cup than any other club in Europe and team manager Tim Allnutt, who captained the side before taking on his current role a decade ago, admits there have been times where they have had to Google where they are going.

The trip to Siberia to play Enisei-STM on Saturday is the seventh country that they have visited in their 105 games to date — but they must be wondering where Scotland is?

Connacht have played 42 clubs in the Challenge Cup, but while Glasgow, Edinburgh and Borders have played in it, Connacht have never met any of them.

John Muldoon gets directions from a local. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

Instead, they have headed to Wales, England, France, Italy, Spain and even Romania, before making the 5,800km trip to Krasnoyarsk.

“There have been a lot of places where we would never have been were it not the Challenge Cup. It’s been great. This is certainly the longest and most challenging trip we have been on but we have been all over the place down through years,” said the New Zealander, who married a Galway native and settled down in the City of the Tribes to raise his family.

Connacht have twice been to Spain in the Challenge Cup, playing matches in Madrid and Valladolid, while they also took on Steaua Bucharest in Romania in 1999-2000.

Aly Muldowney, John Muldoon, Finlay Bealham, George Naoupu and Ian Porter wih members of the military. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

They have been to 18 French clubs in the Challenge Cup, including clubs which have slipped off the radar such as Nice and Perigueux; made ten trips to England, where the likes of Orrell are no longer operating at this level.

Connacht have visited six Welsh clubs, including the likes of Ebbw Vale, Dunvant, Caerphilly and Pontypridd.

And there have been five trips to Italy which included a visit to Sicily to play Catania, along with one to Rome and also to Prato where all road signs are in Italian and Chinese, the latter to assist the huge migrant population which settled there after coming to work in nearby Florence.

Aly Muldowney and Finlay Bealham feeling the cold. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

“There have been some great trips,” added Allnutt. “But I think it is safe to say this is the coldest place we have been.

“But we have received a very warm welcome, club officials were at the airport to meet us and again in the hotel. That’s a great help when you don’t speak the language and it’s what rugby is all about.”

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