Benetton Rugby 19 Connacht 22
A second-half revival from Connacht saw us halt Benetton in their tracks and bring their five-game winning run to a close.
With three tries apiece there was never much between the two sides but a yellow card for Tomasso Iannone with ten minutes to play proved the catalyst for Connacht’s win. Tito Tebaldi had given Benetton the lead late in the first half but Finlay Bealham hit back minutes after the break. Monty Ioane extended Benetton’s lead but Jarrad Butler responded almost immediately for Connacht, with Jack Carty then kicking the penalty after Iannone’s yellow and Eoin Griffin’s score meaning Marco Fuser’s effort with the clock in the red was only good enough for a bonus point. After early Connacht pressure the home side worked their way back into the game and, but for a fine tackle from Matt Healy in the 20th minute, Luca Sperandio would have gone in at the right corner for the opening score of the game. The remainder was a half characterised by turnovers and stoppages for injuries, punctuated by a blitzing run from Ioane into the Connacht half. And after several phases of play a Benetton lineout from the left set up a maul from which scrum-half Tebaldi darted over from five yards – suffering a knock to the leg in the process.
Tebaldi limped off after Marty Banks kicked the conversion the half ended with the home side seven to the good. The second half began with Connacht pressure and a kick to the corner set up a lineout drive that saw Bealham bundle over for the score – Carty missing the conversion and the chance to level the scores with 35 minutes to play. With the half looking to be heading the same way as the first, Banks put in a cross-field kick from his own half, which Ioane collected to run 60 yards down the left touchline for a fine score – Banks missing the tough conversion on the hour mark. That score sparked Connacht into life and a smart offload from Cian Kelleher to Butler, for the flanker to drive home from just inside the Benetton 22 – Carty adding the extras to draw level and set up a tense final 15 minutes. And with ten minutes to play the decisive moment came with Iannone adjudged to have performed a tip tackle on Tom Farrell, seeing him spend the rest of the match in the bin. Carty knocked over a penalty and with six minutes to play a Healy break saw him offload to Caolin Blade, before the ball fell to Griffin for the centre to score the winning try – Carty making sure of the points with the conversion. Connacht face a trip to South Africa to take on the Cheetahs next Saturday night.
