Connacht now know that they are history makers - without having kicked yet a ball at the Stade Jean-Bouin this weekend.
Covid cases in the Toulouse set-up have led to Cardiff being awarded a 28-0 victory for their Champions Cup fourth round pool fixture.
And that outcome means that the westerners, for the first time in the history of the province, are through to the knockout stages.
Andy Friend's side will keep the celebrations on ice until after their clash with Stade Francais in Paris on Sunday afternoon.
However Connacht want to bounce into the knock-out stages in Europe on the back of a second pool win, having already taken care of business against Stade in Galway, and having come so close to a big victory at home to Leicester Tigers last weekend.
Bundee Aki's absence is not a worry for Ireland supporters, as the centre is expected to be fit and available for the Six Nations opener against Wales.
Similarly, Finlay Bealham has not made the trip with the province but is fine from an Ireland perspective.
"For us, we’re not thinking about results elsewhere," said Friend.
"All we’re focused on is going to Paris, take what we learned from last week and hopefully finish our Pool stage on a high.
"If we can do that then we can celebrate a great achievement of reaching knockout rugby in this competition.
"With dry weather and their 4G pitch it’s looking like it’ll be a fast-tempo game, so we’ve selected a side that reflects that."
Friend has made two changes to his front row from last weekend's near-miss, with props Jordan Duggan and Greg McGrath included.
There are also four backline changes with Caolin Blade, Mack Hansen, Tom Farrell and Alex Wootton brought into an exciting formation.
Hansen finally gets to make his Champions Cup debut after injury issues, and in the week when he is selected for Six Nations duty for the first time.
Jack Carty again captains the side from out-half, Sammy Arnold moves from 13 to 12, and full-back Tiernan O’Halloran makes his 199th appearance for the province.
Charlie Ward and Sam Illo are in line for their debuts for the westerners off the bench.
Connacht: O'Halloran, Wooton, Farrell, Arnold, Hansen, Carty, Blade; Duggan, Delahunt, McGrath, Dowling, Murray, Prendergast, Oliver, Butler.
Replacements: Heffernan, Ward, Fifita, Boyle, Reilly, Fitzgerald, Kilgallen.
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
