Connacht creep to scrappy win
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Benetton Treviso bagged their first point of the PRO12 season but they couldn't make it four as Craig Ronaldson's boot edged Connacht to a 9-6 victory.
A try-free first half did nothing to separate the two sides, as Jayden Hayward and Ronaldson each collected a pair of penalties at the Stadio Monigo.
The hosts, who came into the game with just one point from their last eight PRO12 games, had often been under pressure but always did enough to keep Connacht well away from their line.
The second half saw a momentum shift, with Treviso moving into the ascendency and looking the more likely to inflict Connacht's second defeat of the season, until Ronaldson's third penalty restored the lead and settled the tie.
Meanwhile, JJ Hanrahan scored 12 points with the boot as Munster followed up their impressive win against Leinster last weekend by defeating Scarlets 17-6 at Thomond Park.
Andrew Smith scored the game's only try in the first half for Munster, while Scarlets flyhalf Rhys Priestland experienced a miserable night off the kicking tee as the visitors crumbled after the break.
The Scarlets arrived at Thomond Park as one of the form teams in the PRO12, having suffered just one defeat in their last seven games, and the confidence from the Welsh side was obvious for all to see.
The visitors raced into a first-minute lead as Welsh international No.10 Priestland dropped an ambitious goal.
Despite claiming an impressive win at Leinster last time out and dominating their Irish rivals up front – Munster made eight changes to their side for the visit of the Scarlets, including fielding an all-new front row of Dave Kilcoyne, BJ Botha and Kevin O'Byrne.
The return of Peter O'Mahony after injury was an obvious boost to the Munster pack but the number of changes, particularly up front, seemed to affect their early passages of play.
Friday's scores and scorers:
Treviso 6-9 Connacht
For Treviso:
Pens: Hayward 2
For Connacht:
Pens: Ronaldson 3
Teams:
Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Ludovico Nitoglia, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Enrico Bacchin, 11 Michele Campagnaro, 10 Sam Christie, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Simone Favaro, 5 Corniel Van Zyl (captain), 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Matteo Zanusso.
Replacements: 16 Amar Kudin, 17 Albert Anae, 18 Romulo Acosta, 19 Antonio Pavanello, 20 Tomas Vallejos Cinalli, 21 Francesco Minto, 22 Simone Ragusi, 23 Alberto Lucchese.
Connacht: 15 Darragh Leader, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Craig Ronaldson, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Eoin McKeon, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Mick Kearney, 3 Rodney Ah You, 2 Shane Delahunt, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Aly Muldowney, 20 Willie Faloon, 21 Ian Porter, 22 Dave McSharry, 23 Danie Poolman.
Referee: David Wilkinson
Assistant Referees: Marius Mitrea, Andrea Spadoni
Munster 17-6 Scarlets
Scorers:
For Munster:
Try: A.Smith
Pens: Hanrahan 4
For Scarlets:
Pen: Priestland
DG: Priestland
Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Andrew Smith, 12 Ivan Dineen, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Peter O'Mahony (captain), 5 Billy Holland, 4 Dave Foley, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Kevin O'Byrne, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Eusebio Guinazu, 17 James Cronin, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Donncha O'Callaghan, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Johne Murphy.
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Gareth Owen, 12 Scott Williams (captain), 11 Kristian Phillips, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Rory Pitman, 7 John Barclay, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Johan Snyman, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Rhodri Jones, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Samson Lee, 19 George Earle, 20 James Davies, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Michael Tagicakibau.
Referee: Claudio Blessano
Assistant Referees: Gary Conway, Dermot Blake
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