Connacht blow Benetton away in Galway
MATCH REPORT: Replacement Caolin Blade claimed a 66th-minute bonus point as Connacht overcame Benetton 38-19 at the Sportsground on Saturday.
Connacht captain Jack Carty converted tries from Niall Murray and Paul Boyle and added a penalty to establish a 17-7 half-time lead.
Marcus Watson sandwiched in his second try in the space of a week, while Marco Zanon cancelled out a Finlay Bealham effort to keep the Italians in contention.
Scrumhalf Blade wrapped up the result, taking advantage of a red card for Benetton’s Kiwi second row Scott Scrafton, before Tommaso Menoncello and Dylan Tierney-Martin traded late scores.
Second row forward Murray showed an impressive burst of pace to score from halfway, Carty’s short pass releasing him to romp over despite Edoardo Padovani’s cover tackle.
Following the first of Carty’s five conversions, the visitors showed their threat out wide when English duo Jacob Umaga and Watson combined from a cross-field kick.
With 18 minutes on the clock, former sevens international Watson ran in an opportunist try. The ball went loose at a Connacht ruck, allowing Scrafton to send the speedster over from the left wing. Umaga levelled from the tee.
Connacht was back in front when Bundee Aki’s inviting pass off a line-out put Boyle hurtling over for Carty to make it 14-7.
Benetton prop Ivan Nemer managed to hold up Oisin Dowling, and another promising Connacht attack was spoiled by obstruction from Conor Oliver.
A Carty penalty put 10 points between the sides before the break, and Bealham added another seven-pointer early in the second half. The initial surge came from slick handling by centres Aki and Tom Farrell.
Connacht was sloppy at times, though, and they allowed Benetton to respond by the hour mark. Skipper Dewaldt Duvenage’s partially blocked pass was grounded by centre Zanon to restore the 10-point deficit.
Scrafton, though, was too high when tackling Tierney-Martin near halfway, his dismissal leaving Benetton shorthanded for the remainder.
Blade tucked away the bonus point, reaching over after Aki was stopped short, but the lively Menoncello got past Aki for a well-taken consolation try. A maul right at the death saw Tierney-Martin complete the scoring.
The scorers
For Connacht
Tries: Murray, Boyle, Bealham, Blade, Tierney-Martin
Cons: Carty 5
Pen: Carty
For Benetton
Tries: Watson, Zanon, Menoncello
Cons: Umaga 2
Teams
Connacht: 15 John Porch, 14 Diarmuid Kilgallen, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Mack Hansen, 10 Jack Carty (captain), 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Niall Murray, 4 Oisín Dowling, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Gavin Thornbury, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Tom Daly, 23 Tiernan O’Halloran.
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Marcus Watson, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Edoardo Padovani, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (captain), 8 Giovanni Pettinelli, 7 Michele Lamaro, 6 Manuel Ziliani, 5 Scott Scrafton, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Filippo Alongi, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Ivan Nemer.
Replacements: 16 Lapo Frangini, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Nahuel Tetaz, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Joaquin Riera, 23 Ignacio Mendy.
Referee: Marius van der Westhuisen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Stuart Douglas (Ireland), John Carvill (Ireland)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
