Zebre 34

Connacht 57

John Fallon at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi

It’s been a season of fluctuating fortunes for Connacht, and the bizarre continued in Italy on Saturday when hooker Dylan Tierney-Martin became the fourth player in a row to score a hat-trick for the province.

But behind that eye-catching stat was a somewhat remarkable storyline which saw Connacht having to dig deep in the closing stages to prevent an embarrassing loss to a Zebre side without a win since last April.

Three late tries, bringing their haul to nine, the most they have scored in an away match in the league, camouflaged a display of mixed ability.

Connacht were coasting to victory when they opened up a 38-13 lead early in the second-half, but found themselves frantically defending a four-point lead in the closing stages as the Italians came in search of their first URC win of the campaign.

However, Connacht got their act together in the closing minutes to run in three tries and keep their hopes of a knockout place alive with a nine tries to four win.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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