Connacht 11
Edinburgh 7
CONNACHT CLIMBED OFF the foot of the RaboDirect Pro12 table after edging out Edinburgh 11-7 at The Sportsground.
The home side fought back from 7-3 down at half-time to edge ahead with half an hour to go and see out the game thanks to a Dan Parks penalty for insurance. The win is only the province’s third of the season but is enough to lift them above Zebre to 11th in the league.
Pat Lam’s men had a favourable wind at their back in the opening 40 minutes but, despite a dominant scrum, they trailed at the switch-around. The same wind that drove the home side forward was toying with the kicks of out-half Craig Ronaldson. The former Lansdowne man missed three first-half penalties after slotting over his first kick on 20 minutes.
Edinburgh led at the break due to a stealthy surge up-field after only 10 minutes. The Scots exchanged some slick passes in the backline before flanker Roddy Grant steamed over for a try that was converted by Carl Bezuidenhout.
The wind was with Alan Solomon’s side for the second half but Connacht started with attacking intent and should have had a try from Kieran Marmion. Edinburgh No.8 Cornell du Preez jumped the gun and pounced, offside, at the scrum-half as he eyed the tryline. The home side opted to kick for the 5m lineout, secured the ball and made use of the rolling maul. Lock Michael Swift emerged from a mountain of bodies to receive the acclaim of the fans. The try was announced as a score for blindside Andrew Browne but Connacht’s longest serving player was eventually credited for the five-pointer.
Home cheers turned to whistles, however, as Ronaldson’s conversion attempt struck the post. Dave McSharry, who was returning from a two-month spell on the sidelines, was replaced by Parks with 30 minutes to play. The veteran out-half took over the kicking duties as Ronaldson stepped back into the midfield. His first opportunity to extend Connacht’s lead, on 65 minutes, was straight in front of the posts and straight-forward. A successful kick made it 11-7 going into the final 15.
Lam must have feared another defeat snatched from the jaws of victory as Edinburgh pressed for a match-winning try but they successfully defended a lineout near their tryline in the closing stages and cleared back up the pitch. It was the closest the Scottish side would get.
Connacht: R Henshaw (D Leader); F Carr, D McSharry (D Parks), E Griffin, T O’Halloran; C Ronaldson, K Marmion; D Buckley, J Harris-Wright (D Heffernan), R Ah You (R Loughney); M Swift (A Muldowney), M Kearney; A Browne (G Naoupu), J Heenan, J Muldoon (capt.).
