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Joe Joyce has settled into life very quickly at The Sportsground, having picked up Player of the Match in round one of the URC, the big man from Bristol has continued to perform in every game he's played and now gets set for the challenge of the Champions cup.
Connacht come into the game having lost at home for the first time in nearly more than a year as Leinster struck late with a try to steal it. Big Joe wasn't involved in the game but spoke about how the team are feeling as they get ready for Bordeaux.
"Last week was tough to take"
"Losing an interpro in that fashion is painful"
"There was so much good stuff from the game which we have to take though"
"When the lads came back in on Monday you could get that sense that there was a different feel to the week with it being a Champions Cup week"
"While doing our review on the Leinster game we've also been able to get focused very early with the job we have this Friday"
"For me personally, I haven't played in the Champions Cup for the last two or three years so I'm looking forward to it"
The Connacht second row has come up against Bordeaux before and expects another tough battle.
"I've played them twice in knockout rugby before"
"They are very big men and they can move"
It was a full house at The Sportsground last Saturday with an amazing atmosphere around the place, Big Joe hopes to see the same this week.
"Last week was unbelievable in terms of the noise and buzz around the place"
"I got a taste of what its like to play in front of that big crowd when we played Ulster, but last weekend was on a different scale"
"When you hear that crowd roar you honestly think there's three or four times more in the crowd than whats actually there"
