URC: Connacht 26 Benetton 15
Pre-season gadabouts against Bristol and Sale whetted the appetite nicely, as much for the style of rugby as the results and as an augury were chock-full of promise. It was therefore heartening to watch the home team deliver an impressive win in the first competitive match of the Stuart Lancaster era in Connacht.
Whether it superseded expectations on a crisp autumn night is an irrelevance, other than the fact that the Connacht supporters went away full of good cheer having watched their side prevail in a full-blooded contest against a quasi-Italian national team: only a slight exaggeration.
As a contest it was brutish, gladiatorial in the collisions. Four Connacht players left the pitch for head injury assessments, two (outhalf Josh Ioane and centre Byron Ralston) did not return and will follow the return to play protocols.
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But despite these setbacks and others of their own making, being a little bit careless in handling and periodically losing a bit of shape, the Connacht players showed commitment and connection in defence and were aggressive in contact, whether tackling or carrying. Tag on some excellent running lines, good footwork and several nicely worked plays and there was plenty to admire.
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Benetton too played their part in an entertaining tussle – former Connacht coach Pete Wilkins is now in charge of their attack. They scored a couple of tracking tries and could have had another two if it wasn’t for brilliant last-ditch tackles by Shayne Bolton in the first instance and a combination of Chay Mullins and Caolin Blade. Onisi Ratave was twice denied.
Connacht’s enterprise was underpinned by several outstanding contributions. Captain Paul Boyle received the man-of-the-match award, but it could equally have gone to number eight Sean Jansen or centre Cathal Forde. Sam Illo had an excellent game at tighthead prop, Josh Murphy too, while Caolin Blade and Ioane, up until his departure, brought direction and a cutting edge.
It should also be noted that with all the enforced changes the home side had Sean Naughton, an outhalf who started at fullback, switch to outside centre, and Blade to the wing. The old six-two bench split can bite.
Forde was up against a couple of Test match centres in Malakai Fekitoa, once of Munster, and Tomasso Menoncello, one of the best in world rugby. The Connacht man lost nothing in comparison. He straightened up the line beautifully, muscled or finessed his way past the initial contact, occupied multiple tacklers and gave his team-mates premium ruck ball off which to work.
“He’s an excellent player,” Lancaster said of the 24-year-old. “There’s absolutely no doubt about that in my mind. He’s trained extremely well, he’s played very well in preseason games, played very well again tonight.
“He’s beginning to really shine and he’s going to put pressure on in that position because with the players I’ve already mentioned, there’s no guarantee for any of them really if he’s going to play that well.”
Two young tightheads also caught the eye, Illo (24), with his power and aggression, while Fiachna Barrett (22) almost made a try-scoring cameo from the bench, his effort chalked off by the television match official Griffin Colby.
Lancaster admitted: “His (Illo) potential is huge, things like his physicality in the tackle, his strength in the scrum. He’s one of our strongest forwards in the gym. So, it’s just translating that physical capacity and developing a mindset that’s going to go to war, you know what I mean? And I think he’s making that switch.
“Obviously, there’s pressure I can put on him in training, which helps him make that switch. And so he and Fiachna (Barrett) are two very exciting titans, aren’t they? You know when you’ve got Finlay (Bealham) and Jack Anger as well, we are strong in that position.”
Connacht led 12-3 at the interval through tries from Ioane, the byproduct of some excellent interplay which the outhalf finished off and then the second for rookie fullback Naughton, served to him on a platter following Ioane’s gorgeous show-and-go.
Benetton hit back less than a minute after the restart, Menoncello bounced a tackler and brought play into the Connacht 22 from where Louis Lynagh scooted over.
The game again endured a lengthy stoppage as Ralston suffered a head-on-head collision with Benetton captain Michele Lamaro as the Connacht centre was dipping/slipping slightly. Referee Chris Allison reviewed the footage and brandished a yellow card.
The home side punished the visitors on the scoreboard, hooker Dylan Tierney-Martin found soft shoulders as he wriggled over with surprising ease from a tapped penalty five metres out. Forde converted.
Connacht continued to court danger through ill-discipline, twice allowing Benetton to kick penalties to the corner, but they nicked the throw in the first instance and on the second a brilliant defensive set allowed them to escape unscathed.
A wonderful slaloming run by Blade, described by Lancaster as the scrumhalf was playing on the wing at that point “as channelling his inner Cheslin Kolbe,” provided a catalyst for the bonus-point try. Jansen barged over from close range. Forde converted and Connacht were able to concede a late try to Alessandro Garbisi without material consequence. A good night’s work.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 8 mins: Ioane try, Forde con 7-0; 15: Umaga pen 7-3; 18: Naughton try 12-3; Half-time: 12-3; 41: Lynagh try 12-8; 45: Tierney-Martin try, Forde con 19-8; 72: Jansen try, Forde con 26-8; 80: Garbisi try, Umaga con 26-15
CONNACHT: S Naughton; C Mullins, B Ralston, C Forde, S Bolton; J Ioane, C Blade; P Dooley, D Tierney-Martin, S Illo; N Murray, J Murphy; P Boyle (capt), S Hurley-Langton, S Jansen.
Replacements: C Prendergast for Hurley-Langton (HIA, 11-21 and 63 mins); D Heffernan for Tierney-Martin (HIA, 11-21 and 49); J Carty for Ioane (HIA, 24); B Murphy for Ralston (HIA, 45); J Joyce for Murray (46); J Duggan for Dooley (49); F Barrett for Illo (49); D O’Connor for Murphy (57).
Yellow card: C Mullins (25 mins).
BENETTON: M Gallagher, L Lynagh, T Menoncello, M Fekitoa, O Ratave, J Umaga, L Werchon; I Nemer, S Maile, S Ferrari, N Cannone, E Snyman, S Negri, M Lamaro (capt), S Fa’aso’o.
Replacements: M Spagnolo for Nemer (2 mins); L Cannone for Fa’aso’o, R Favretto for N Cannone, R Asiata for Maile, T Pasquali for Ferrari (all 53); P Odogwu for Ratave, A Garbisi for Werchon (both 65).
Yellow card: M Fekitoa (9 mins); M Lamaro (43).
Referee: Chris Allison (South Africa).
