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Zebre upset Connacht to end long losing run
By Peter Thompson
Zebre ended a 15-match losing streak by coming from behind to stun defending Pro12 champions Connacht with a 25-22 victory at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi on Saturday.
The Italian club are rooted to the foot of the table following a woeful winless run which stretched back to last October, but they rallied from 12-3 down to claim their first home success of the season.
Connacht had won four games in a row before coming unstuck at Glasgow Warriors last weekend and looked set to get back on track after Stacey Ili touched down and Craig Ronaldson added a second try with his first contribution after replacing the injured Ili.
Zebre showed great character to battle back and lead at the break courtesy of a Derick Minnie try and eight points from Carlo Canna's boot setting them on their way to only a second victory of the season in the competition.
Tommaso Boni caught Connacht cold with another try out on the left early in the second half before John Cooney landed a penalty and Edoardo Padovani added another just after Minnie was sent to the bin, ensuring a late converted Josh Rowland score was in vain.
Zebre are now just two points adrift of second-bottom Benetton Treviso and will feel justice has been done, as they led Connacht 22-10 at half-time back in October when the game was abandoned due to treacherous weather.
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Latest Comments
The prem games this season have mainly been great to watch , with the exception of Sale. So boring and predictable.
Let's have more of Bristol, Bath , Quins etc style of play.
Rugby needs expansive play to put more bums on seats . Not the dirge of rolling forward mauls constantly trying to bully their way over the line.
It has its place yes to draw the defence but the fans want to see more running rugby . Not win at any cost and sod the entertainment .
Go to commentsSo Borthwick should drop Marcus Smith? He's the odd one out, forcing the rest of the English backline into a gameplay they don't know. Replacing him with Fin or Ford makes everyone more likely to succeed.
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