O’Brien Enjoys Try-Scoring Return As Connacht Bounce Back

Fit-again flanker Sean O’Brien was back with a bang in Connacht’s 47-12 Guinness PRO14 victory away to Zebre in Parma.

On his first start in almost two years, O’Brien barrelled over for a 21st-minute score which put Andy Friend’s men on their right road following a difficult start.

Having gone behind to Tommaso Boni’s first-minute opener, Connacht roared back to lead 23-7 with winger Alex Wootton touching down twice, including a jet-heeled intercept effort right on half-time.

Industrious centre Tom Daly matched that brace during an eventual second half, which included Ultan Dillane’s 100th Connacht appearance and a 56th-minute red card for replacement Abraham Papali’i.

Sam Arnold secured the bonus point two minutes after the break, and although Marco Manfredi took Zebre into double figures, the westerners took their try tally to seven late on.

With barely a minute on the clock, the Italians got off to a barnstorming start. Tommaso Boni and Giulio Bisegni linked superbly, the latter offloading out of a tackle to send his centre partner over from 10 metres out.

Antonio Rizzi made it the full seven points, but Connacht reacted well and Colm Reilly, the eventual player-of-the-match, and Jack Carty began to dictate play.

Two penalties from Carty reduced Zebre’s lead to a single point, before the visitors’ lion’s share of possession and territory was turned into a try at the start of the second quarter.

Arnold and Shane Delahunt made significant headway with carries inside the Zebre 22, and O’Brien picked from a ruck to power over past two covering defenders. The try went unconverted at 11-7.

Michael Bradley’s men were soon foiled by a couple of excellent interventions from Eoghan Masterson, who stole a lineout, and John Porch who weighed in with a brilliantly-timed try-saving tackle.

With Connacht drawing further encouragement from their solidified defence, they got a chance to show their clinical edge in attack by closing out the opening half with two tries.

Both of them were run in by Wootton, who first put the finishing touches to a well-worked 34th-minute team try. Reilly’s searing break and a sharp pass by Porch did the damage in the build-up.

Then, as Zebre attacked once more, the 26-year-old winger intercepted Rizzi’s pass 10 metres out from his own line and blazed clear to go in under the posts. Carty converted for a 23-7 scoreline at the break.

After the in-form Wootton had taken his season’s haul to four tries, Connacht continued where they left off when the second half got underway.

Armed with a penalty advantage, Arnold stretched over in the right corner for his second try in three games. The bonus point score went unconverted with Carty’s kick drifting narrowly wide.

Flexing their attacking muscles, try number five arrived in the same corner when Daly showed impressive strength to take two players with him over the try-line. Suddenly, a stunned Zebre were 33-7 behind.

Connacht made a host of changes thereafter – including the introduction of Dillane, their latest centurion – and were reduced to 14 men when Kiwi Papali’i was sent-off for a head-high challenge on Boni.

Zebre took advantage of their numerical advantage almost straight away, as hooker Manfredi scrambled over from a maul that had Connacht in trouble. Rizzi failed to convert.

14-man Connacht staved off any hopes of a Zebre comeback with two more tries inside the final nine minutes. Firstly, a penalty try was awarded when a rolling maul was dragged down illegally.

With openside Renato Giammarioli also seeing yellow for that infringement, Daly went to complete his brace when collecting a partially-blocked kick from replacement Conor Fitzgerald.