Connacht’s Italian misery continues

IT was the Italian hoodoo all over again as Connacht slumped to a 25-13 defeat away to Aironi on Saturday evening for their third Magners League defeat on Italian soil.

Connacht captain John Muldoon admitted the westerners paid the price for failing to give their hosts ‘the respect they deserved’ as the home outfit recorded their first win the competition.

Muldoon explained: “Aironi have shown a marked improvement this season. Unfortunately, individually and collectively, we made too many errors and you cannot afford to do that against any team in the league. We were still in the game until they scored their third try, and then they battened down the hatches and we were left chasing the game. Our discipline let us down, we did not give them the respect they deserved and they deserved their win.”