KEANE SHOCKED BY FLAT CONNACHT
CONNACHT coach Kieran Keane said he is bewildered by the paucity of his side’s display in Parma on Saturday where they were turned over for the second season in a row. The 2016 champions left empty-handed after Michael Bradley’s men finished strongly to deservedly claim victory at Stadio Lanfranchie. ‘It was a tight game and Zebre are a good side,’ said Keane. ‘Playing at home we knew their tails would be up. We knew all about that and talked about that during the week. Our preparation was really good. It’s a head-scratcher for me. ‘The changing room is deathly quiet. Everybody is reflecting. Just everything broke down on us. All the options taking was all a bit average. ‘I am going to have to sit down and figure it out with some of the coaches. Some individuals didn’t endear themselves very well did they? Some pretty average performances. It’s what we have go to get right.’ Zebre led 6-0 at the break but Tom Farrell, one of the few Connacht players to impress, pounced for a try five minutes after the restart. Steve Crosbie converted and when Carlo Canna and Jack Carty exchanged penalties, it left Connacht 10-9 ahead with 13 minutes left and the prospect of a first away win in the Pro14 seemed on, despite the deficiencies in the performance. But Zebre got their act together and blew them away to beat them for the second year in a row. South African Johan Meyer scored and then Canna, one of seven Italian internationals to play against the Spingboks last week, added a drop goal before winger Gio Vendiitti rubbed salt in the wound with a late try. ‘I think we played well in the first half but didn’t get the reward for it,’ said former Connacht coach Bradley. ‘We just asked the boys to do the same again in the second half and it should come, and it happened to come for us. Obviously, we’ve very happy. ‘We were pipped by Edinburgh and the Cheetahs, so it was good to close out the victory and pull away at the end. It gives us something to build on.’