Writing in the Irish Independent, Vincent Hogan previews Connacht's European Challenge Cup showdown with big-spending Toulon.
"The flags adorn Salthill promenade; Quincentennial Bridge is a glorious blaze of green, yet Heaven alone knows if this is the sort of carnival soon destined to turn into an empty field.
"Connacht welcome Toulon to the Sportsground tonight and, with the promise of bad weather rolling in off the Atlantic, there is a soft murmur of uprising in the Galway air. The French, logically, should win this Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final rather easily, of course.
"They are bank-rolled by a comic book publisher to the annual tune of €16.5m, boast a galaxy of global superstars (some of whom have been blithely left at home) and currently top the French Championship. Connacht, meanwhile, survive on a €2.5m IRFU stipend and sit rock bottom of the Magners League. Yet, there is a peculiar chemistry to this fixture, a sense that something implausible might just happen if Toulon find tonight's surrounds a little too primitive and drafty."
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