Aki To The Rescue As Connacht Set New Record For Away Wins

A last-minute try from Bundee Aki saw Connacht defeat Benetton Rugby 19-17 to set a new record for the province of five consecutive Guinness PRO14 away wins.

Despite converted scores from props Finlay Bealham and Paddy McAllister, Connacht trailed 17-14 to the resolute Italians during the dying embers of a keenly-fought contest.

Reneging on the opportunity to kick a late levelling penalty, Connacht were rewarded for their bravery when Aki touched down at the tail of a powerful rolling maul to seal the victory.

The westerners, who remain nine points behind Conference B leaders Munster, began the game with an attacking mindset, looking to play with pace and precision.

With a penalty advantage, Kieran Marmion’s clever grubber kick behind found Tom Daly. The centre powered into space and was stopped just short of the line by the hosts’ scramble defence.

Paul Boyle picked from a close-in scrum and was denied close to the line, but Connacht reloaded and applied more phases of pressure, with Bealham duly making it count when he surged over the line in the 16th minute.

Fitzgerald made no mistake with the conversion and the visitors looked set to build on that score. Marmion was central to their attacking forays as they poured forward in search of another try.

However, Shane Delahunt’s sin-binning for a tip tackle on Jayden Hayward gave Benetton the numerical advantage and they made it count with two quick-fire tries.

After a series of attacks in the Connacht 22, former Italy Under-20 flanker Davide Ruggeri bundled his way over the line for a 35th minute try, which Edoardo Padovani converted.

With the wind in their sails, Benetton took a 14-7 lead thanks to a superb searing run from winger Leonardo Sarto. He weaved through from his left wing berth, touching down for Padovani to add the extras.

Still without Delahunt, Connacht started the second period with obvious intent and they swiftly notched their second try through some forward power.

Number 8 Boyle gave them field position with a surging break, and following a number of strong carries by his forward colleagues, loosehead McAllister muscled over for a try which Fitzgerald converted to make it 14-all.

Despite that early lift, Connacht were unable to regularly establish territory in the hosts’ half, and Benetton, with their defence particularly solid, grew stronger in attack as the minutes ticked by.

After applying pressure to the Connacht defence with five minutes remaining, the hosts were awarded a penalty. Stepping up, Padovani made no mistake to raise hopes of the Italians’ first win of the campaign.

Aki, who had given away that penalty, knuckled down to win a penalty which put Connacht back on the front foot. Although they lost the lineout, some excellent breakdown work saw them awarded another penalty.

This time the set piece in the Benetton 22 worked a treat, Aki controlling the ball at the back as a well-executed maul snaked over for the night’s decisive score.