Benetton Rugby 9-11 Connacht

34 degree heat welcomed Connacht to the Stadio di Monigo in Treviso on Saturday afternoon as Connacht got their RaboDirect PRO12 campaign underway. The home side had 12 players in New Zealand with the Rugby World Cup but still fielded a strong team. The opening exchanges were even with play rarely leaving the middle third. However on 7 minutes Connacht gave away a penalty from just outside their 22 which De Waal gladly converted to give the Italians an early lead. Treviso seemed content to play a kicking game with De Waal and Burton pumping long balls into the Connacht 22 which Gavin Duffy and Tiernan O’Halloran ably dealt with. Connacht looked to counter on several occasions with Michael Swift and Rodney Ah You making good ground on crash balls. On 25 minutes, Captain Gavin Duffy hoisted a high Garryowen into the Italian sky which was taken impressively by Tiernan O’Halloran who made a good break only to be held up short of the line. The Connacht scrum was dominant and number 8 George Naoupu broke from the base and looked like scoring only to be stopped two metres short. The defender didn’t roll away and referee Dudly Phillips gave Connacht a penalty which Matthew Jarvis scored to level proceedings. The Connacht scrum continued to offer a great attacking platform and they were awarded a penalty on 32 minutes. Jarvis launched a huge kick from halfway but it sailed narrowly wide. Connacht kept up the pressure and five minutes to halftime they got their reward. Some great phase play build up and quick ball to Henry Fa’afili who stepped inside two defenders before offloading to Matthew Jarvis who made great yards until he was stopped three metres out. Rodney Ah You picked the ball from the ruck and there was no stopping the prop who powered over for his first Connacht try. Jarvis failed with the Conversion but Connacht went in to the break 8-3 in the lead.

The second half started with a huge 30m break from Irish International Mike McCarthy who was only stopped five metres from the Treviso line. From the resulting play a loose pass was intercepted and the Treviso wing Michael Sepe tried to break from his own 22. A great covering run from Tiernan O’Halloran and a big tackle from Michael Swift saved Connacht’s blushes and won a penalty for the visitors with the winger not releasing the ball. The heat really began to take its toll on both sides and the substitutions rolled. On 53 minutes, Treviso were penalised and Jarvis stretched Connacht’s lead to 11-3. On 57 minutes, the Connacht backs really sprung into life when neat hands from Fa’afili and Griffin leading to a 70 metre break and a penalty to Connacht outside the Treviso 22. Jarvis pulled the kick wide however. As the second half went on, the Italians started to get on top of the game and De Waal kicked his second penalty to narrow the gap. On 70 minutes, Burton kicked into the Connacht 22 and winger Mark McCrea countered with two great chip kicks before being held up 3m from the Treviso try line. The home side kept piling on the pressure and De Waal kicked his third penalty on 74 minutes to set up a nail-biting finale. With a minute on the Clock, a huge penalty from De Waal gave the Italians a lineout five metres from the Connacht line, but a huge defensive effort turned the ball over and Connacht held on for a hard fought away victory. It was a great defensive performance from Eric Elwood’s side who welcome the Scarlets to the Sportsground next Saturday. Tickets are on sale now from www.ticketmaster.ie or www.connachtrugby.ie

Rodney Ah You celebrates with new captain Gavin Duffy after scoring against Treviso (C) www.inpho.ie