Connacht recorded their third Pro12 victory of the season with an 18-3 triumph over Treviso in a dire match at the Sportsground on Saturday.
Danie Poolman's try and eight points from Dan Parks opened up a comfortable 13-0 lead at half-time for the home team. Alberto di Bernardo scored a penalty to reduce the deficit, but it wasn't enough as Gavin Duffy's second-half touchdown sealed a hard-fought win.
The hosts went into the game in 10th position with just two league victories this season, but they started this encounter well with Parks kicking an early penalty. Connacht's stand-off then extended that advantage with a second from tee as they moved 6-0 ahead.
However, conditions were making it extremely difficult for either team to put a consistent passage of play together.
It didn't stop the hosts from crossing the whitewash, though, as Tiernan O'Halloran collected Parks' chip before the winger fed Poolman for a converted score. And the Irish province held on to that advantage until the interval with the visitors looking toothless in attack.
The game remained tight and scrappy in the second period with the Italian outfit continuing to struggle to break down Connacht's defence.
They finally broke their scoring drought when di Bernardo slotted a three-pointer just after the hour mark.
Treviso's fly-half then had another chance to reduce the arrears, but his effort hit the post and the home side confirmed the victory with Duffy's touchdown.
The scorers:
For Connacht:
Tries: Poolman, Duffy
Con: Parks
Pens: Parks 2
For Treviso:
Pens: di Bernardo
Yellow card: Toniolatti (Treviso)
Connacht: 15 Robbie Henshaw, 14 Tiernan O'Halloran, 13 Danie Poolman, 12 Dave McSharry, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Eoin McKeon, 7 Johnny O'Connor, 6 Andrew Browne, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Nathan White (c), 2 Jason Harris-Wright, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements:16 Adrian Flavin, 17 Rodney Ah You, 18 Ronan Loughney, 19 John Muldoon, 20 Mick Kearney, 21 Dave Moore, 22 Miah Nikora, 23 Gavin Duffy
Treviso:15 Brendan Williams, 14 Andrew Vilk, 13 Christian Loamanu, 12 Andrea Pratichetti, 11 Angelo Esposito, 10 Alberto Di Bernardo, 9 Fabio Semenzato, 8 Marco Filippucci, 7 Valerio Bernaḅ, 6 Manoa Vosawai, 5 Corniel Van Zyl (c), 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Jacobus Roux, 2 Franco Sbaraglini, 1 Matteo Muccignat.
Replacements: 16 Enrico Ceccato, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Ignacio Fernandez-Rouyet, 19 Giovanni Maistri, 20 Enrico Targa, 21 Giulio Toniolatti, 22 James Ambrosini, 23 Luca Morisi.
Venue: Sportsground
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Assistant referees: Paul Haycock (Ireland), Eddie Hogan-O'Connell (Ireland)
Assessor: Michael Carroll (Ireland)
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