Connacht never on back foot

Connacht - 18 Newport - 12:CELTIC LEAGUE: The momentum continues. Connacht, beginning to scent the play-offs more strongly, defended their way to their fourth successive Celtic League victory last night in Galway.

A match that was always well within their control and only occasionally threatening, was safely put to bed, Eric Elwood marshalling his side to a deserved win, hard fought but satisfyingly ground out, even during Newport's final flourishes in the last 10 minutes.

Connacht will be pleased with their ability to lift the tempo when Newport came on the attack at the end, trying everything to bridge a six-point gap.

Johnny O'Connor, who looked as if he aggravated an ankle injury, kept the sniping Junior Tono'u honest around the fringes while Ted Robinson also stepped forward for some battling cover work, a lofted ball in the final quarter held with nerve as the entire Newport pack engulfed him.

Connacht, swarming around, dominated territorily in the first half but must have gone in at the break wondering how Newport were still irritatingly close, only two points behind. Two kicks, a penalty and conversion, that went astray from the normally impeccable Elwood had the crowd scratching their heads.

But where the most experienced player on the Connacht side stuttered a little in the set-pieces, James Norton crowned his debut competitive start for Connacht with the province's first try.

Breaking from midfield and turning on the pace, the 21-year-old full back kicked his heels, the covering Newport defence sweeping across much too late to stitch up the defensive tear.

Elwood's failure to convert on 17 minutes was soon followed by a successful penalty, taking the score to 8-0.

While Newport were lacking in imagination and tempo, Connacht, too, didn't fully ignite and despite the ball moving around the Newport 22 for much of the half, it was the Welsh side who hit back close to the break, Shane Howarth kicking penalties on 26 and 40 minutes for 8-6.

Critically for Connacht, their second try arrived soon after half-time. An Elwood skip pass went left to Wayne Munn, who picked wonderfully off his toes, and the winger ran in from the 22 and around under the posts.

Elwood's conversion took his side to 15-6 before Howarth kicked penalties twice in ten minutes, his second from 40 yards, for 15-12.

Whatever anxiety there was soon subsided as Connacht's discipline and organisational ability gelled and with Rowan Frost sublime in the lineouts and Darren Yapp and captain Tim Allnutt fearlessly working the field, Connacht sewed up the match with another Elwood penalty.

They finished going backwards but never on the back foot.

Scoring sequence:17 mins J Norton 5-0; 23: E Elwood pen 8-0; 26: S Howarth pen 8-3; 40: S Howarth pen 8-6. 47: W Munn try, Elwood con 15-6; 49: S Howarth pen 15-9; 58: Howarth pen 15-12; 70: E Elwood pen 18-12.

CONNACHT: J Norton; T Robinson, D Yapp, T Allnutt (capt.), W Munn; E Elwood, C Keane; D McFarland, J Flannery, P Bracken, W Waugh, R Frost, M Swift, C Rigney, J O'Sullivan. Replacements E Reddan for Keane 47; J O'Connor for C Rigney (50 mins); M Uijs for Flannery and R McCormack for McFarland (57 mins). E Peters for W Waugh (70 mins).

NEWPORT: M Pini; M Mostyn, A Marinos, S Williams, A Cadwallader; S Howarth, O Tono'u; R Snow, P Young, C Anthony, M Veater, S Raiwalui (capt), J Forster, G Gravell, A Popham. Replacements: A Garvey for Anthony and J Richards for Young (50 mins).

Referee: R Maybank (Eng).