Very happy we won obviously but zebre are just so poor, tbp was on the cards if connacht had pushed for it. Heenan is just such a super player, there were some good signings made this summer but he could end up being the best of all imo.

Two tries through inventive line out moves. The influence of Clarke perhaps.

First half very decent, good to see defence holding up although zebre making it easy for us, a better team would have far more going on.
Did really well at the start of this half to prevent them scoring a try but need to really wake up now, cut down on errors and do the simple things right.

Great performance so far. Disciplined, aggressive, focused.

How many times have teams come to the Sportsground, defended for half an hour, then used their superior ball skills and larger pack to stick 10 points past us in the run up to half time?

Nice to see us do it to someone else for a change.

neolive.eu/159603/1/Watch-Zebre-vs-Connacht-Rugby-/


Here's a good link.No complaints.Would have bit your hand off for that score at half time.Dan's kicking immaculate.

HT: 19-3 to us.

Not sure how we are winning to be honest! Forwards doing well especially in defense. Backs kicking has been good. Otherwise, ?????????

Happy days though.

19-3 up at ht. Looking good. Parks kicking well. The boot of So'oialo proving an asset as well. Connacht have had to soak up some pressure but really think we could have had another try or two if we were as clinical as we could be but the try was well taken and we are getting all our shots at goal. Another score after ht and we may be able to think bonus point.

Looking forward to this good team out and some exciting selections. Hopefully we'll see a mix of styles for best effect.

Build up show online of Sky Extra in 5 minutes, for those lucky enough to have Sky.


Grrr. just a filler screen so far...

connachta wrote: Careful about N-Z winger Dion Berryman

I'd be throwing high balls onto him all day. He doesn't want to know about it defensively. Was awful against us in the Sportsground at 15. Very very soft, I'd be targetting him all day.

Garcia at 12 is a very strong carrier. Ronaldson and Parks need to put their bodies on the line or he will go straight over the top of them

Saracens beaten 16-17 in Wembley, the group is now Toulouse's tou louse

Bizarre game, Saracens absolutely pulverised in the scrum, but due to awful place kicking from McAllister and sloppy play, Toulouse still contrived to be 9 points down until the last 10/15 minutes, when they started pulling themselves together a bit. Probably bad new for our chances at finishing second, but I still found myself cheering for Toulouse. Or should that be against Saracens?

We badly need a win tomorrow to keep the impossible dream alive

That was a nice try from Zebre. Started when Poitrenaud's arms got a little shorter as, I believe, Zebre's Fijian Ratuvou was bearing down on him then a nice pass out to Berryman to perform his acrobatics.

Decent line-up for Connacht. They really need to build on last week and not let Zebre hang around in this game. Score early and often without getting crazy with the ball like Toulouse did there.

connachta wrote: Careful about N-Z winger Dion Berryman

His try last week against Toulouse was spectacular.

Careful about N-Z winger Dion Berryman

Zebre Lineup

1. Matias Aguero
2. Tomasso D’Apice
3. Dario Christolini
4. Michael Van Vuren
5. Marco Bortolami
6. Mauro Bergamasco
7. Dries Van Schalkwyk
8. Samuela Newa Vunisa
9. Brendon Leonard
10. Luciano Orquera
11. David Odiete
12. Gonzalo Garcia
13. Tomasso Ionnone
14. Dion Berryman
15. Ruggero Trevisan
16. Davide Giazzon
17. Andrea Di Marchi
18. Luciano Leibson
19. Emiliano Caffini
20. Filippo Cristiano
21. Alberto Chillon
22. Kameli Ratuvou
23. Leonardo Sarto

Mancini - Hooker who scored tries against us and Munster this season not in panel. Also regular prop Perugini and lock Goldenhuys injured I assume. Otherwise this is close to full strength.

I thought Ronaldson was solid enough at 12, the first try we conceded was Henshaw's fault for moving in from the drift defence to try and make a man and ball tackle and failed.