PRO 12 Treviso 9 Connacht 11:DESPITE UNDERGOING some drastic cosmetic surgery over the summer, the early evidence suggests Connacht are well placed to improve on last season's ninth place finish.
Saturday’s impressive victory over Treviso in front of a crowd of 3,200 was the perfect start for a province which generally struggles to gain league wins outside of Galway (one in the previous three seasons combined).
Eric Elwood knows his men will face bigger challenges than the Italian minnows, but having witnessed 16 players exit the club during the summer, he was unsurprisingly delighted with the winning start, and extolled the virtues of many of his new recruits.
Prop Rodney Ah You (22) – whose first-half try eventually proved the difference between the sides – came in for particular praise, as did outhalf Matthew Jarvis (21), who kicked two penalties on his first competitive start for the province.
“We believe in Rodney, and he’s starting to believe in himself now,” said Elwood. “He had a good pre-season, he is pushing himself hard. He’s a destructive carrier, and he can be destructive in defence when he hits people. He will benefit from more game time, as will a lot of the other younger players.
“Matthew is another young player who I believe has good ability. Today was a big step up in the level of rugby for him. He started well though he will probably be disappointed with some of his missed kicks, but that will come. He’s a young kid who I believe can play at his level, and the more exposure he gets, the better he’ll get.”
Another young player to stand out was Ireland Under-20 international Tiernan O’Halloran, who produced an accomplished showing on the left wing to back up the outstanding form he showed in Italy during the recent Junior World Cup.
“I thought Tiernan was fantastic,” said Elwood. “His aerial skills were outstanding, whilst his line kicking and work rate were immense. We have always known Tiernan has that ability . . . He took a big step today, and if he does well, it’s up to someone to take the position off him.”
Next up for Connacht are the Scarlets at home this Saturday.
TREVISO: L Nitoglia; M Sepe, K Burton, L Morisi, B Williams; W de Gaal, A Chillon; M Rizzo, F Sbaraglini, A Allori; A Pavanello, V Bernabo; M Filippucci, F Minto, M Vosawai. Replacements: P di Santo for Rizzo, M Muccignat for Allori, B Vermaak for Bernabo, D Vidal for Sbaraglini (all 50 mins), G Padro for Vosawai (65 mins), B de Jager for Nitoglia (69 mins), S Picone for Pavanello (71 mins).
CONNACHT: G Duffy; M McCrea, E Griffin, H Fa'afili, T O'Halloran; M Jarvis, F Murphy; R Loughney, A Flavin, R Ah You; M Swift, M McCarthy; J Muldoon, R Ofisa, G Naoupu. Replacements: E Reynecke for Flavin, D Rogers for Ah You (both 47 mins), N O'Connor for Jarvis (60 mins), D Buckely for Loughney, J O'Connor for Ofisa (both 61 mins), TJ Anderson for Muldoon (72 mins)
Referee: D Phillips(IRFU).
