A late Tietie Tuimauga try gave Connacht a much needed, 21-17 win over Benetton in the United Rugby Championship this afternoon.

They left it late after being up against it for the majority of the second half, but the replacement prop was on hand to get a crucial score right at the death.

Two second half tries looked to have seen the hosts pick up the points, but the never say die attitude of the Irish province sees them get a much needed win for their hopes of play offs and Heineken Champions Cup rugby next season.

A game for the forwards in the end for the visitors, as all three of their tries came from their forward line, a key component in their victory this afternoon, whether it was attacking or defending they looked strong.

Connacht got out of the blocks early, looking dominant in the early exchanges but it was Cian Prendergast who carved his way through the Benetton defence, the forward almost looking like a back with a fantastic breakaway run before side stepping a challenge to cross for a 5-0 lead, Jack Carty made it 7-0 with a conversion after his two minutes.

The hosts managed to get their first points of the game after nine minutes, Conor Oliver penalised at the breakdown and Giacomo Da Re opted for the posts, the fly half landing his first kick of the afternoon.

The Westeners were attacking with intent and looked lively, anytime they crossed their opponents half of the pitch, after more sustained pressure they crossed in the corner but a forward pass brought play back as they had an advantage.

After the penalty Connacht went short and neared the try line, in the end a scrum was the play and moments later Niall Murray powered his way over, for their second try after 19 minute with Carty making it 14-3 with the conversion, a lead they held to the break 

After the restart Benetton started to come back into the contest, after several good minutes they closed in on the Connacht line after a well taken lineout, after the phases they went out wide where Italy international Edoardo Padovani crossed in the corner, Da Re added the conversion to make it 14-10 after 50 minutes.

After the try Connacht looked in big trouble, unable to build on a quality attack from the first half, it became all the home side in the second half, they pinned Connacht back into their half and just after the hour mark Prendergast was sent to the sin bin, as they had to survive an onslaught down to 14.

They held their own but after a short scrum, Toa Halafihi saw a gap and powered over for their second try, the hosts taking the lead for the first time in the contest, Da Re making it 17-14 with his third accurate kick of the afternoon after 70 minutes.

Going behind late on the Irish province needed to dig deep, knowing how vital this result is for their season, they pushed forward and were given a lifeline as Manuel Zuliani was shown the sin bin in the 72nd minute.

They camped closer to the line, the forwards who proved fruitful in scoring ability, looked dangerous after each ruck that was formed, Tuimauga was the hero for Connacht as he managed to ground in the 75th minute, Carty’s conversion giving them a four point margin late on.

It was back to the walls defending by the Westerners in the dying minutes, like warriors with their shields out they kept Benetton away from their try line, and with 86 minutes elapsed on the clock the referee blew to signal full time.