Ronaldson inspires Connacht
Matt Healy grabbed a double and Craig Ronaldson kicked 18 points as Connacht racked up seven tries to claim a 53-5 Pro12 victory over Benetton Treviso at the Sportsground.
Other scores from Tiernan O'Halloran, Jake Heenan, Denis Buckley Aly Muldowney and Danie Poolman sealed a 53-5 win, Connacht's third victory in their last five in the league.
Treviso's only points came from a Sam Christie try as they remain 11th, four points ahead of fellow countrymen Zebre.
The Irish province dominated throughout and the five-point win keeps them in sixth, five points behind Ospreys.
Connacht opened the scoring with O'Halloran latching onto a great assist from Healy, who dummied and went before offloading to the full-back who dived over the line.
Ronaldson added the conversion and then took the Irish province into a ten-point lead soon after as he nailed a simple penalty.
Jayden Hayward had the chance to respond immediately but his effort from the kicking tee sliced wide from five metres outside the 22.
And Ronaldson had three from three with ten minutes to go in the half, landing another regulation penalty from in front of the posts.
It was time for Treviso to respond and two minutes later they did. James Ambrosini kicked superbly for the corner and the Italians set a solid driving maul before spraying the ball out to centre Christie who crashed over for the try.
Hayward was wayward with his conversion so Treviso went into the half-time break eight points behind Connacht but with plenty to play for.
If Treviso were feeling optimistic, however, Heenan had other ideas. Connacht set a monstrous driving maul three minutes into the second half, with backs even joining in the fun, and the openside flanker was at the back to touch down.
Ronaldson maintained his perfect record from tee with an expertly-taken touchline conversion to take Connacht to a fifteen point lead.
After his earlier assist Healy went from provider to scorer as he crossed for Connacht's third score of the evening.
Again Ronaldson hit a wide conversion as the game looked up for Treviso, now trailing by 22 points.
And it was not long before Connacht had their bonus-point score. Buckley this time at the back of another unstoppable rolling maul, Ronaldson hit his sixth kick of the match for the two extras.
Muldowney was next to crash over, after confirmation from the TMO, but Ronaldson broke his perfect kicking record for the evening, sliding his seventh effort wide.
Healy then crossed for his second of the game following quick hands from the Connacht backs - Ronaldson converted with another from the touchline.
And the rout was completed when Poolman marked his 50th cap with a late try in the right-hand corner.
Yet again Ronaldson was imperious with the boot and Connacht had a 53-5 win.
The scorers:
For Connacht:
Tries: O'Halloran, Heenan, Healy 2, Buckley, Muldowney, Poolman
Cons: Ronaldson 6
Pens: Ronaldson 2
For Benetton Treviso:
Try: Christie
Yellow card: Salesi Manu (Benetton Treviso, 70)
Teams:
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Danie Poolman, 12 Dave McSharry, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Craig Ronaldson, 9 John Cooney, 8 Eoghan Masterson, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Aly Muldowney, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Nathan White, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 George Naoupu, 21 Ian Porter, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Conor Finn.
Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Henry Seniloli, 13 Andrea Pratichetti, 12 Sam Christie, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 James Ambrosini, 9 Alberto Lucchese, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Dean Budd, 6 Nicola Cattina, 5 Meyer Swanepoel, 4 Tomas Vallejos, 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Davide Giazzon (captain), 1 Matteo Zanusso.
Replacements: 16 Albert Anae, 17 Romulo Acosta, 18 Salesi Manu, 19 Corniel Van Zyl, 20 Paul Derbyshire, 21 Alberto Saccardo, 22 Joe Carlisle, 23 Francesco Menon.
Referee: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Mark Connolly (Ireland), Ken Imbusch (Ireland)
TMO: Dermot Moloney (Ireland)