Connacht delivered a deserved bonus-point victory over visitors Benetton at Dexcom Stadium on opening night of the new URC season.
And new coach Stuart Lancaster said it was a deserved result as Connacht posted four tries.
“I thought we deserved the rewards - not just today, but for the work the lads have put in this season.”
Most pleasing, he says, was putting in a performance in front of a home audience.
“Pleased with depth and we have cohesion,” he says. “Senior players like Caolin and Jake, Dave Heffernan when he came on, and the most pleasing thing was seeing Sean Naughton - a 10 who started at fullback and then moved to 13 due to injuries. We have have some good depth to build in, so selection problems.”
“One or two ref decisions didn’t go our way, two HIAs - it was a challenge, but we rose to it and deserved the win.”
“All the coaches deserve credit - the breakdown and scrum was excellent, the tackle and line-out maul defence and the kicking game. Collectively, defensively was the big marker- that pleased me the most.
“I wanted to bring the enthusiasm back to senior players - so big smiles on faces of Colin Blade and Jack Carty.
Dominating the opening eight minutes, Connacht controlled territory and possession, creating several scoring opportunities, helped by a solid scrum. However it was not until the 10th minute they broke through for a deserved try, outhalf Josh Ione finishing after a series of thrusts at the line, with centre Cathal Forde adding the extras.
The visitors opened their scoring not helped by a ninth minute yellow card, conceded a second try a few minutes later, with Ioane breaking through before sending Sean Naughton on his way to claim a try in his first start for Connacht.
However, the visitors came back strongly into the game, ramping yup possession and territorial stakes and keeping Connacht on their defensive toes, and but for the superb tackle by Shayne Bolton, the visitors’ left wing Fijian Onisi Ratave would have scored in the left corner.
However, they came out in the second half and within a minute had broken through for a superb try,. Menoncello was the instigator, cutting through the Connacht defence before Michael Lynagh finished off with aplomb, cutting the deficit to 12-8, the conversion missed.
When the visitors lost Lamor to a yellow card after a high tackle on Bryan Ralston, Connacht were able to take advantage, Dylan Tierney Martin claiming a try that ensured the home side grabbed a 19-8 lead, Forde converting.
But one of the biggest cheers for the home side came from a superb defensive set after the visitors had won a penalty to bring them within metres of the Connacht line. Eventually forcing a home scrum and a superb clearance kick from Carty ensured Lancaster’s men were back on attack in the right area of the pitch. They looked to have made it count, patiently attacking the line with a series of thrusts led by Cian Prendergast and Hurley-Langton, and although Fiachna Barrett looked to have claimed his first try, it was disallowed by TMO for a double movement.
That was the prelude for another assault on the Benetton line, and on this occasion it was Sean Jansen who deservedly claimed the try - the bonus-point fourth try to seal Connacht’s opening night URC fixture under new coach Stuart Lancaster. It mattered little that Benetton claimed a late try at the death - Connacht had sealed a the bonus-point win on the opening night of a new URC season under a new coach.
7mins Ioane try Forde Con 7-0; 15m Umaga pen 7-3; 18m Naughton try 12-3; HT 12-3; 41m Lynagh try 12-8, 45m Tierney Martin try, Ford con 19-8; Jansen try 72m, Ford con 26-8; 80m Garbisi try, Umaga con 26-15.
Yellow cards: Connacht Mullins 26m; Benetton Feikitoa (9m.
Connacht: S Naughton, C Mullins, B Ralston, C Forde, S Bolton, J Ioane, C Blade, P Dooley, D Tierney-Martin, S Illo, N Murray, J Murphy, P Boyle (C ), S Hurley-Langrton, S Jansen.
Replacements: D Heffernan for for Tierney-Martin, J Duggan for Dooley and F Barrett for Illo )all 50m ),D O’Connor, J Joyce for Murray (47m ), B Murphy for Ralston (, J Carty for Ioane (25m ), C Prendergast for Hurley-Langton (15m ).
Benetton: M Gallagher, L Lynagh, T Menoncello, M Feikitoa, O Ratave, J Umaga; L Werchon,I Nemer, S Maile, S Ferrari, N Cannone, E Snyman, S Negri, M Lamaro (C ), S Fa’aso’o. Replacements, R Asiata, M Spagnolo, T Pasquali, R Favretto, L Cannone, A Garbisi, G Avaca, P Odogwu.
Referee: Christopher Allison
