Connacht gave their hopes of nailing down a quarter-final place in the European Challenge Cup a great boost with a bonus point 35-20 win in Italy on Saturday.
Scrum half Frank Murphy crossed for the crucial fourth try for Connacht with three minutes remaining, as they scored a well-constructed win over Rugby Rovigo.
It was Murphy’s second touchdown – the Corkman had earlier extended Connacht’s 21-6 interval lead eight minutes after the restart.
Michael Bradley’s men got off to a perfect start when hooker Sean Cronin touched down inside a minute after Andrew Farley charged down a clearance kick.
Ray Ofisa started and finished a great move with a try after 21 minutes.
Murphy’s tries at the beginning and finish of the second half sealed the issue, even though Kiwi Luke Mahoney nicked a brace for the home side who will visit the Sportsground next Friday.
Speaking after the win in Italy, Bradley said he was confident Connacht could complete back-to-back wins over Rovigo in Galway.
“The first thing was to win the game and then go after the bonus point so it was good to come away with all five points.,” he said.
“The key now is to complete that again this Friday and give ourselves every chance of securing a quarter-final place.”
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