Connacht continue excellent run with third straight win

Connacht 34 Zebre 15

Connacht posted their third successive win at home this season, overcoming Italian visitors Zebre with five tries at the Galway Sportsground on Friday evening.

Dominating the opening half, they wrapped up the fourth try-bonus point to lead by 29-10 before the break, maintaining their early season momentum in the Guinness Pro 12.

Connacht’s Craig Ronaldson, a late replacement for outhalf Jack Carty suffering with a leg infection, stroked over a fourth minute penalty, before left wing Matt Healy crossed for the second. From a counter-attack in his own 22, Healy twice kicked ahead before finishing off in the seventh minute, with Ronaldson adding the conversion.

There was a brief respite for the Italian visitors when Edoardo Padovani kicked a penalty just inside halfway after Connacht were pinged at the breakdown, but handling errors proved costly and Connacht profited. Healy was once again the chief protagonist, racing through to grab possession from Bundi Aki’s kick ahead, and scrumhalf Kieran Marmion finished off under the posts. Ronaldson added the extras before the home side added their third five minutes later. From a penalty to touch, Andrew Browne set up the maul with No 8 Conor McKeon claiming the try for a 22-3 lead.

The visitors responded before the break with a try from right wing Dion Berryman, set up by a strong drive from their pack, and Padovani added the conversion. However just before the half-time whistle Zebre’s loosehead Andrea Lovotti was binned for not retreating 10m, and from another penalty to touch, Ronaldson jinked past two defenders to claim the fourth try and bonus point, also adding the conversion.

Denis Buckley added try number five from an unstoppable driving maul within 10 minutes of the restart, and in a lacklustre second half Zebre were rewarded for a number of close-in penalties with a try from flanker Johan Meyer in the 78th minute.

Yellow cards: Zebre, A Lovotti (38). Connacht, B Aki (78)

Connacht: T O'Halloran, D Poolman, R Parata, B Aki, M Healy, C Ronaldson, K Marmion, D Buckley, T McCartney, R Ah You, Q Roux, A Browne, J Muldoon (cpt), N Fox-Matamua, E McKeon. Replacements: S Delahunt for McCartney (20-35), A Muldowney for Browne (HT), J Cooney for Marmion (49), S Delahunt for McCartney (52), D Leader for Poolman (54), F Bealham for Ah You (59), C O'Donnell for Buckley, and E Masterson for Fox-Matamua (all 59), N Fox-Matamua for Masterson (66), E Masterson for McKeon (69), C McKeon for Ronaldson (72).

Zebre: U Beyers, D Berryman, T Boni, M Pratichetti, K Van Zyl, E Padovani, L Burgess, A Lovotti, A Manici, P Ceccarelli V Bernabo, G Biagi (cpt), J Meyer, J Sarto, A Van Schalkwyk. Replacements: E Caffini for Sarto (48), C Canna for Padovani (54), E Coria for P Ceccarelli (54), G Palazzani for Burgess (59), M Bortalami for Bernabo (64), A Der Marchi for Lovotti (72).

Referee: B Whitehouse.