Connacht 26 - 15 Benetton

Full time

27 Sep 2025

United Rugby Championship

Stage: Regular Season Round 1

Dexcom Stadium

Connacht vs Benetton head to head

🎉 1

👏 1

🔥 1

Connacht Rugby secured a solid 26-15 victory against Benetton Rugby at Dexcom Stadium. Josh Ioane opened the scoring early with a try, followed by a successful conversion from Cathal Forde. Despite a yellow card for Malakai Fekitoa of Benetton, Connacht extended their lead with a try from Sean Naughton. In the second half, Connacht's Dylan Tierney-Martin added another try, again converted by Forde. Benetton's attempts to fight back included a late try from Alessandro Garbisi, but it wasn't enough to close the gap. Connacht's defense held firm throughout, capitalizing on their opponents' mistakes. Overall, Connacht's disciplined performance and effective set pieces led them to a well-deserved win.

Weather

Temperature: 13.5°C (Feels like 9.8°C) Condition: MostlyClear Wind: 14.7 km/h, gusting to 24.9 km/h Humidity: 72% Cloud Cover: 19%

Highlights

Events

Kickoff
1'

Substitution

Mirco Spagnolo on for Ivan Nemer · Benetton
7'

Try

Josh Ioane · Connacht

5 - 0
8'

Conversion

Cathal Forde · Connacht

7 - 0
9'

Yellow Card

Malakai Fekitoa · Benetton
9'

Substitution

Dave Heffernan on for Dylan Tierney-Martin · Connacht
11'

Substitution

Cian Prendergast on for Shamus Hurley-Langton · Connacht
15'

Penalty

Jacob Umaga · Benetton

7 - 3
18'

Try

Sean Naughton · Connacht

12 - 3
19'

Yellow Card Complete

Malakai Fekitoa · Benetton
20'

Substitution

Dylan Tierney-Martin on for Dave Heffernan · Connacht
24'

Substitution

Shamus Hurley-Langton on for Cian Prendergast · Connacht
24'

Substitution

Jack Carty on for Josh Ioane · Connacht
25'

Yellow Card

Chay Mullins · Connacht
35'

Yellow Card Complete

Chay Mullins · Connacht
40'

Try

Louis Lynagh · Benetton

12 - 8
Halftime 12 - 8
Second Half
43'

Yellow Card

Michele Lamaro · Benetton
45'

Try

Dylan Tierney-Martin · Connacht

17 - 8
46'

Conversion

Cathal Forde · Connacht

19 - 8
46'

Substitution

Ben Murphy on for Byron Ralston · Connacht
46'

Substitution

Joe Joyce on for Niall Murray · Connacht
49'

Substitution

Dave Heffernan on for Dylan Tierney-Martin · Connacht
49'

Substitution

Jordan Duggan on for Peter Dooley · Connacht
49'

Substitution

Fiachna Barrett on for Sam Illo · Connacht
49'

Substitution

Richie Asiata on for Siua Maile · Benetton
53'

Substitution

Lorenzo Cannone on for So'otala Fa'aso'o · Benetton
53'

Substitution

Riccardo Favretto on for Eli Snyman · Benetton
53'

Yellow Card Complete

Michele Lamaro · Benetton
56'

Substitution

Cian Prendergast on for Shamus Hurley-Langton · Connacht
58'

Substitution

Tiziano Pasquali on for Simone Ferrari · Benetton
65'

Substitution

Paolo Odogwu on for Onisi Ratave · Benetton
65'

Substitution

Alessandro Garbisi on for Louis Werchon · Benetton
69'

Substitution

David O'Connor on for Josh Murphy · Connacht
72'

Try

Sean Jansen · Connacht

24 - 8
73'

Conversion

Cathal Forde · Connacht

26 - 8
76'

Substitution

Simone Ferrari on for Mirco Spagnolo · Benetton
80'

Try

Alessandro Garbisi · Benetton

26 - 13
81'

Conversion

Jacob Umaga · Benetton

26 - 15
Fulltime 26 - 15

Player ratings

Connacht

15 Sean Naughton 7.5
14 Chay Mullins 5.7
13 Byron Ralston 6.9
12 Cathal Forde 8.5
11 Shayne Bolton 7.5
10 Josh Ioane 7.5
9 Caolin Blade 7.3
1 Peter Dooley 6.5
2 Dylan Tierney-Martin 7.5
3 Sam Illo 6.5
4 Niall Murray 6.2
5 Josh Murphy 6.7
6 Paul Boyle 8.3
7 Shamus Hurley-Langton 7.4
8 Sean Jansen 8.0
16 Dave Heffernan 7.0
17 Jordan Duggan 6.7
18 Fiachna Barrett 6.6
19 David O'Connor 6.1
20 Joe Joyce 6.8
21 Ben Murphy 6.2
22 Jack Carty 6.6
23 Cian Prendergast 6.2

Benetton

15 Matt Gallagher 6.5
14 Louis Lynagh 7.4
13 Tommaso Menoncello 7.1
12 Malakai Fekitoa 5.3
11 Onisi Ratave 6.9
10 Jacob Umaga 7.0
9 Louis Werchon 6.0
1 Ivan Nemer –
2 Siua Maile 6.8
3 Simone Ferrari 6.5
4 Eli Snyman 6.6
5 Niccolo Cannone 6.6
6 Sebastian Negri 5.9
7 Michele Lamaro 4.6
8 So'otala Fa'aso'o 6.2
16 Richie Asiata 6.7
17 Mirco Spagnolo 8.0
18 Tiziano Pasquali 5.9
19 Riccardo Favretto 6.8
20 Lorenzo Cannone 6.4
21 Alessandro Garbisi 6.5
22 Giuliano Avaca –
23 Paolo Odogwu 5.7