It will be the first time the 23-year-old, who is the great grandson of Maori rugby legend George Nepia, has played outside of New Zealand.
And he admits that he had to pinch himself when head coach Pat Lam, himself born in Auckland, first got in contact earlier this year.
"I'd never been in Europe, never mind Ireland, so it was a big move. I was prepping for another ITM season when Pat (Lam) phoned me up," said Fox-Matamua.
"At first I thought someone was pulling my leg but after chatting to him for a bit I soon found out that Connacht were looking for a loose forward and to add some depth to that position.
"I didn't have to think about it too much. I did some research and found out a bit more about the club and the vision they had, where they wanted to go.
"I spoke to Jake (Heenan) and Tom (McCartney) and they had nothing but positive things to say.
"I had had some interaction with Pat when I was a bit younger and coming through the Auckland Academy. He was with the Blues at that stage and we used to mix with them for training and games.
"Jake was in the academy with me as well before he left for Ireland. I played with Tom in Auckland and I played against Bundee a few times as well so it's good to see them again."
Connacht will be keen to build on some promising displays last season that eventually saw them finish seventh in the GUINNESS PRO12 final reckoning.
They open up the new campaign by hosting Newport Gwent Dragons on September 4, although Grenoble will be their first pre-season opponents in just over a week's time.
And with the Galway-based outfit having been in pre-season training for the past month, Fox-Matamua feels he is starting to get into a groove.
"Training-wise it was a little bit different at first to what I was used to," he added.
"The first few weeks, we were doing two weights sessions a day which I had never done before. It was demanding but I feel I've adjusted quickly over the last four weeks.
"I was doing pre-season with my club side but when I signed for Connacht in March I took a break to make sure I was in good shape to hit the ground running here.
"I'm really enjoying Connacht and Galway and I'm just looking forward to getting stuck in with the season."
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