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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
Thanks for the lesson Nick! I presume that targeting gaps is situational because if a ball carrier straightens the line they can't be allowed a gap to run into? It feels like you need depth if you're going to pass it wide and plenty of variety - straight running, kicks just in behind, cross kicks etc. BTW what an incredible bench Toulouse had this week. People complain about Leinster being stacked but they need to be at the very highest level.
Go to comments2015 was by far the best team. They have had many good backlines over the years but the 2015 team was one of the few to have an absolute world class forward pack - all of them international quality. 6 ABs, 1 future English player, and one that would have gone on to ABs had he not been forced to retire due to concussion. This current team doesn’t have the same size and experience at lock, but providing they can keep this many talented young players (who have all significantly increased their profile this year) together for another 2 years they could eclipse the 2015 team.
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