Scrum half John Cooney scored two tries in a man-of-the-match performance as Connacht defeated Zebre 40-10 to remain in contention for European Champions Cup qualification.
John Cooney (2), Matt Healy, Eoghan Masterson, Tiernan O’Halloran and Shane O’Leary all crossed the whitewash, while out-halves Jack Carty and Conor McKeon kicked nine and four points respectively.
The round 21 match marked flanker Mauro Bergamasco’s final home game for Zebre before his retirement, and he captained the Parma-based club for the occasion.
The battle for sixth spot and automatic European Champions Cup qualification is set to go down to the wire in next weekend’s final round of the GUINNESS PRO12. The Scarlets (sixth, 53 points), Connacht (seventh, 49) and Edinburgh (eighth, 48) all still have a mathematical chance of finishing sixth, with the Welsh side’s 16-6 derby defeat of Cardiff Blues putting them in pole position.
Lam’s charges entertain the table-topping Ospreys in round 22, knowing that a victory there could be enough for either automatic Champions Cup qualification or seventh overall. The Scarlets wrap up the regular season with a trip to Benetton Treviso, while Edinburgh and Leinster will clash at BT Murrayfield.
Whoever finish seventh in the PRO12 will face a play-off away to European Challenge Cup champions Gloucester, with the winners of that game taking on the seventh-placed Top 14 team to contest the final Champions Cup place. These matches will be played on the weekends of the PRO12 semi-finals and final.
This evening’s game kicked off in 26-degree heat and Carty had a penalty miss before the visitors got on the scoreboard. It was fitting that on a day when Lansdowne were crowned Ulster Bank League champions, two members of the club’s 2012/13 title-winning squad combined for Connacht’s first try.
An initial break by winger Healy opened up the way for Cooney, who got the nod over Marmion, to run a great support line and touch down in the 11th minute. Carty converted for a 7-0 lead.
Zebre increased their intensity with a scrum penalty and a promising break by out-half Luciano Orquera, but the hard-working O’Halloran was well placed to deal with the danger.
The scrum continued to give the Italians a decent platform entering the second quarter, and although the ball went to ground on an attack on the left wing, New Zealander Brendon Leonard was able to run in a simple try as Connacht were caught for numbers. Orquera’s conversion briefly brought Zebre level.
Ace poacher Healy was the man to respond for Connacht, breaking clear from near halfway for an opportunist score. A powerful midfield tackle by Robbie Henshaw freed up possession and the winger needed no second invitation as he gobbled up possession and dashed away from Orquera for the province’s second seven-pointer.
The latter sent over a 34th minute penalty following a Connacht ruck infringement, before a smart break by impressive young lock Ultan Dillane, followed by another textbook support line from Cooney, saw the scrum half complete his brace. Carty added the extras for a 21-10 half-time advantage.
The tempo increased into the second period with Connacht doing well to keep Zebre under pressure, pinning them back in their own 22 early on. The Italians stubbornly held on and repelled the visitors’ efforts to tick off the bonus point.
However, John Muldoon and his team-mates remained resolute and launched wave after wave of attack. Eventually, with 54 minutes on the clock, they had their reward. Having kicked for the corner, the pack set up a solid driving maul which saw Academy flanker Masterson notch his second PRO12 try of the season. After converting the previous three scores, Carty’s latest kick just shaved the upright and crept narrowly wide.
A steady flow of replacements came on as Connacht held a commanding lead and just after the hour mark they found themselves with a temporary one-man advantage when Zebre prop Luca Redolfini was sin-binned for throwing punches at replacement hooker Dave Heffernan.
The men in green made it count when an eager Marmion raced from his 22 to the Zebre 10-metre line on a trademark blistering break. Full-back O’Halloran timed his support run to perfection, taking the well-timed pass and evading Leonard to run in try number five. Young replacement McKeon, winning his first senior cap, landed the subsequent conversion.
There were more celebrations in the final 10 minutes when Corkman O’Leary, barely a minute after his introduction, showed a clean pair of heels to the home defence, finishing off a well-worked move that he started himself with Marmion and O’Halloran also involved.
McKeon clipped over the conversion to widen the margin to 30 points. It would have been more had Marmion’s last-minute try not been disallowed for a slight knock-on at the previous ruck. They may have been playing the league’s bottom side, but there were plenty of positives for Connacht to take into the Ospreys game – not least the fact that this was a record 10th PRO12 win of the season for the westerners.
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