Warriors’ Pool 5 opponents for the 2017/18 European Challenge Cup have been announced and supporters can enjoy trips to France and Ireland during the campaign.
Brive
Brive play at the 15,000 capacity Stade Amédée-Domenech and have finished eighth in the Top 14 two seasons in a row.
Na’ama Leleimalefaga and James Johnston recently joined Brive from Warriors and could face an immediate reunion with their former teammates.
Warriors faced Brive last season and lost twice but did claim victory over the French side in the European Challenge Cup quarter-finals in 2009.
Brive’s Gaetan Germain finished with more points than anyone else in the 2016/17 Top 14 season. The full-back scored 321 points.
The Musee Labenche is a popular museum in Brive, which features art and historical artefacts from the region.
Connacht Rugby
Connacht is one of Ireland’s four major provinces and lies in the west of the country.
They play in Galway, the largest city in the province with a population of 79,000 and their home venue is the 8,100 capacity Galway Sportsground.
Connacht Rugby finished eighth in the Guinness PRO 12 last season despite winning the competition the previous year.
County Galway town Athenry provided the inspiration for famous Irish ballad The Fields of Athenry which is often sung by Irish fans at sporting events across the world.
More recently Ed Sheeran wrote the song Galway Girl and recorded the music video in the city.
Oyonnax
The commune of Oyonnax is located in the valley of the Jura Mountains, a sub-alpine range north of the Western Alps.
Oyonnax were promoted as champions from the Pro D2 this season after winning 19 games of their 30 games.
They scored 790 league points – more than any other team in France’s second tier.
The club play at the 11,400 capacity Stade Charles-Mathon stadium which was named after former player Charles Mathon who died during World War II.
Oyonnax is just 17 miles from the Switzerland border and 24 miles from Geneva.
