MAGNERS LEAGUE Connacht 11 Aironi Rugby 6:CONNACHT SCRAPPED their way to a narrow win over bottom side Aironi amid snow showers at the Sportsground last night.
This was a forgettable affair, pockmarked by individual errors and poor decision-making, but Ian Keatley’s 11-point haul was enough to send Connacht up to seventh in the table.
In rain-soaked conditions, Keatley kicked a penalty and scored a late try for an 8-0 interval lead. The outhalf added a second penalty but also missed four kicks over the course of the game, meaning Tito Tebaldi’s penalty double saw Aironi snatch a deserved bonus point.
Earlier, a bout of aimless kicking was ended by a Ray Ofisa-inspired break which resulted in Connacht’s forwards storming through and Keatley landing the first points.
A scrum infringement called against prop Ulises Gamboa allowed Keatley a third shot at the posts, but his 40-metre effort went narrowly wide.
Fionn Carr also had a try ruled out for a forward pass from Keatley and Connacht lacked penetration until first-half injury time.
A neat wraparound move involving Keatley and Troy Nathan sent the outhalf hurtling towards the line and, although Riccardo Bocchino made the tackle, Keatley’s momentum took him over.
Television match official Jude Quinn confirmed the score and Keatley’s missed conversion left eight points between the sides.
Carr’s pace was causing more problems for Aironi, and Keatley converted the second of two penalty attempts to make it 11-0.
Eric Elwood’s men just could not cut loose though, and the arrival of snow hampered their attacks as Aironi kept plugging away, marshalled by a determined Marco Bortolami.
Replacement winger Giulio Toniolatti was held up just short of the Connacht whitewash, with Frank Murphy coming to his side’s rescue.
Play was brought back for a penalty which Tebaldi knocked over. A powerful run from Williams got Aironi side back on the front foot and Tebaldi’s 75th-minute penalty was the final scoring act.
CONNACHT: Duffy; Tuohy, Ta'auso, Nathan, Carr; Keatley, F Murphy; Loughney, Flavin, Hagan, Swift, McCarthy, A. Browne, O'Connor, Ofisa. Replacements: Ah You for Hagan (68), Upton for McCarthy (70), Matthews for Duffy (73). Not Used: D Murphy, Sweeney, Muldoon, Willis, Nikora.
AIRONI RUGBY: Marshall; Robertson, Pavan, Pratichetti, Demas; Bocchino, Tebaldi; A. De Marchi, Santamaria, Gamboa, Furno, Bortolami, Sole, Krause, Williams. Replacements: Staibano for Gamboa (46), Ferraro for Santamaria (57), Pizarro for Pavan (59), Toniolatti for Robertson (63), Rubini for Bocchino (68) . Not Used: A. De Marchi, Biagi, Cattina.
Referee: James Jones(WRFU).
