Friendships paused as  Kieran Marmion prepares for Pat Lam's return 

Lam’s English Premiership finalists and Challenge Cup winners of last season are on the back foot going into this Champions Cup tie

Pictured is Kieran Marmion, Conor Oliver and Paddy McAllister as Powers, one of Ireland’s oldest and most renowned whiskeys, renews its partnership with Connacht Rugby as Official Whiskey Partner. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

That this weekend’s second round of Heineken Champions Cup pool matches already has Connacht and Bristol in must-win territory tells you everything you need to know about this season’s condensed format.

Not many can foresee how exactly a four-game schedule in a 12-team pool will pan out with each team having just two opponents but last weekend’s round-one results have left Connacht scrum-half Kieran Marmion in little doubt that following a narrow loss to Racing 92 in Paris last Sunday, this Sunday’s visit of a Bristol team led by former boss Pat Lam will have more to it than just a pre-Christmas reunion.