5 players that impressed today
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The former Leinster man fitted seamlessly into the number ten shirt today in the absence of Jack Carty. The Gonzaga veteran was moved, from his usual position of scrum-half, to the pivotal stand-off spot on the field. He was key to almost everything god that happened for Connacht today, scoring one try and set up a handful of other scores in his side’s crucial 66-21 thumping of Zebre. He also kicked wonderfully from the tee, putting over seven of his ten attempts. If Cooney continues to play like this Carty could be under serious pressure on his return from injury.
Tiernan O’Halloran
The Clifden native was absolutely immense today as he picked up the man of the match award. He scored two five pointers and was a threat to the Zebre defence all day. He carried a total of 20 times for a gain of 150 metres, averaging 7.5 metres a carry. He was particularly threatening on the counter-attack as he put his back three partner Matt Healy away down the outside a number of times. The fullback surely will be in the mind of Irish head coach, Joe Schmidt, who was present in Galway today.
