Heineken Cup: Dan Parks kicks Connacht past Zebre in Pool Three opener
Dan Parks ensured Connacht opened their Heineken Cup Pool Three campaign with a 19-10 victory over Zebre.
Last Updated: 13/10/12 5:01pm
Fly-half Parks, in his first season with the Irish province, landed four penalties and converted Geoff Muldoon's 62nd-minute try at Stadio XXV Aprile in Parma.
Zebre, the Italian RaboDirect Pro12 team that was formed following the collapse of Aironi last summer, scored a late converted try through Filippo Ferrarini.
But they otherwise had only a Daniel Halangahu penalty to show for their efforts and are still searching for their first professional win.
Parks kicked three of his penalties during a tight first half as Connacht ground out a 9-3 lead at the break.
Zebre held firm for 20 minutes at the start of the second half before Parks' fourth penalty was quickly followed by Muldoon's try.
Replacement Ferrarini crossed in the 72nd minute for Zebre and Halangahu converted to complete the scoring.
