Parks is near-flawless as Connacht rout poor Italians

Zebre 6

Connacht 33

It might be the case that this new look Connacht team are finally beginning to find their rhythm.

It might be the case that between now and Christmas, the new signings and philosophies will lead to a major step forward. Time will tell on all of that but, for now, a potential early season crisis has been averted with two solid European efforts.

Saturday’s comfortable two try, 27 point, Heineken Cup win in Parma was ruthlessly efficient as Pat Lam’s men brought their record against the Italians over the past 13 months to six victories from six games.

Two weeks of consistently strong set piece play backed up by solid defence, accurate goal kicking and four Heineken Cup tries tells a tale. A total of five points has them in second place in Pool 3, tied with the Saracens side who tip-toed out of Galway last week with a six point win.

It all makes for good reading, especially as the Pro 12 season started with a shaky win over Zebre and has seen them lose four in a row without so much as earning a losing bonus point.

The most remarkable element of Saturday’s contest was clear in the statistics. Zebre dominated in almost every category bar three – penalties, kicks from hand and, of course, points on the scoreboard. Yet they deserved what they got from all that as they offered very little creativity.

Connacht led 19-3 at half-time and pushed on with 14 more points after the restart despite having just 38% possession and 35% territory. Zebre made 475 metres attacking with 127 carries compared to Connacht’s 168 metres and 60 carries.

All very clinical and professional. That in itself is cause for optimism. Next up, Leinster in the Pro12 at the RDS, a venue that has seen very few good performances from the Connacht men. If the intensity and focus can be replicated, even with the high number of injury concerns, Lam’s men can compete.