Connacht boss Pete Wilkins says improving on last season's away form is a priority for the BKT United Rugby Championship leaders.
The Westerners lead the way in the standings after winning their opening three matches, all at home, against Ospreys, Glasgow and Ulster.
But now they face a spell on the road with Edinburgh first on the itinerary before a long-haul flight to South Africa to take on the Sharks and the Bulls.
Connacht began last season with three consecutive defeats on their travels and picked up just three away wins from nine regular-season matches in total.
"It certainly is [an area we want to improve on]," Wilkins told RTÉ Sport.
"We've looked very closely at our away game form; we’ve looked really closely at how we manage those away games.
"Not just in the 80 minutes that we play in some of those games that we’ve probably underwhelmed but also in terms of how we prepare for those games, the lead-in, how the week looks like, the travel, the time in the hotel.
"I don’t think there’s a silver bullet in there but we are looking at that and it’s a unique challenge to have three away games in a row to try some of those things out and see what kind of progress we’re making."
The team, who staged a brilliant comeback win against Ulster on Saturday night, have accumulated 13 points so far and lead the table by one point from Munster.
Wilkins, who took over as boss at the end of last season, said: "Yeah, it is [a great buzz to be top].
"A lot of people said it’s a great opportunity having three home games to start the season and comparing to the run we had last year.
"At the same time it was only going to be a good opportunity if we took advantage of it.
"We’re really pleased to get the three wins. Momentum is really important in the context of our season, it’s important in terms of having a new coaching group and everything that goes with that.
"We're really pleased with that but we saw last year it’s a long old body of work that gets you through to the top eight and then hopefully knock-out games so we need to keep moving in that direction."
The head coach also hailed the skill of out-half Jack Carty, whose cross-kick for Diarmuid Kilgallen led to the winning try.
Scenes in Galway! 😯
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) November 4, 2023
The try that secures the win for @ConnachtRugby tonight!#BKTURC #URC | #CONvULS pic.twitter.com/1KcjQMZkXE
Initially, the Ireland fly-half, standing about seven metres from the tryline, set up for a long pass before dropping the ball to his foot and finding the winger out wide.
"It's certainly a brilliant skill," said the 44-year-old.
"Jack’s one of the best around in identifying those kick-pass opportunities, whether in the attacking 22 or elsewhere down the field.
"He’s got a great feel for understanding whether the run or pass is on and the kick. You don’t have time in those moments to overthink it, to weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of either option, it is very much feel and instinct.
"Having that option in the attacking 22, to have a kick-pass, to have the width, there would be a lot of teams that like to set themselves up like that but the composure he showed to choose that option but then the execution to pull it off was super impressive."
Wilkins should be able to call on Ireland internationals Finlay Bealham, Mack Hansen and Bundee Aki after their three-week post-World Cup break was completed, while he confirmed he has a "full deck to choose from" following the weekend’s 22-20 win.
Caolin Blade was replaced with 20 minutes to play with an ankle injury and Oisín Dowling suffered a calf injury and was substituted at half-time but both should be available for selection.
Shamus Hurley-Langton suffered a head injury at the start of the game but the wing "passed all protocols" and is available for selection.
JJ Hanrahan has recovered from a knee injury, while John Porch and Paul Boyle are also in contention.
Watch Ulster v Munster in the URC on Friday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra
Watch Dragons v Leinster in the URC on Sunday from 1pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
