Connacht beat Benetton 26-15 to start Stuart Lancaster era

Connacht opened Stuart Lancaster's tenure with a 26-15 United Rugby Championship victory over Benetton at Dexcom Stadium on Saturday, taking a late bonus point and setting an upbeat tone for the season. The western province led 12-3 at the interval and finished strongly, with tries from Josh Ioane, Sean Naughton, Dylan TierneyMartin and Sean Jansen securing the win, while Louis Lynagh and Alessandro Garbisi crossed for the visitors.

Ioane gave Connacht the perfect start when he crashed over in the left corner in the eighth minute after quick recycling from a stolen lineout, and Cathal Forde added the conversion. The opening spell was marred by disciplinary incidents that shaped the first half. Benetton centre Malakai Fekitoa was shown a yellow card following a TMO review for a high challenge in the buildup to Ioane's score. Jacob Umaga reduced the deficit with a penalty, but Connacht struck again when Ioane’s offload set academy fullback Seán Naughton away for his first start try.

The game remained stop-start before the break because of injuries and reviews, and Chay Mullins was sin-binned late in the half for a deliberate knock-on. Connacht held a 12-3 lead at the interval.