A try from the returning Robbie Henshaw helped Connacht to a fifth consecutive GUINNESS PRO12 win for the first time since 2002 as they downed Benetton Treviso 33-19 at the Sportsground.

Connacht only led the resilient visitors 9-5 at half-time but pulled away after the break as Henshaw, Tom McCartney and Matt Healy all crossed the whitewash.

Jayden Hayward notched two tries of his own and Edoardo Gori also went over but it wasn’t enough to stop Treviso falling to a 14th consecutive GUINNESS PRO12 defeat, although the hosts are now top of the table.

Ireland international Henshaw returned to the Connacht line-up for the first time since the World Cup but started back in his old position at full-back – enabling the successful Bundee Aki-Craig Ronaldson partnership to continue in the centres.

And Ronaldson slotted the first points of the game on three minutes as he converted a penalty from the ten-metre line, just in from the right.

Similarly to the first half of last weekend’s defeat to Leinster, Treviso began to boss possession and territory without turning it into points as the Irishmen’s defence held firm.

And Connacht made them pay as some pressure inside the visiting 22, originally stemming from Healy’s break and kick up the wing, ended with Ronaldson nailing his second penalty on 20 minutes.

But Treviso finally got the try their play deserved seven minutes later as huge pressure eventually resulted in Hayward being released into space and crossing the whitewash, although he failed to add the extras.

Connacht scored a league-high 166 points in their first six GUINNESS PRO12 matches and looked set to score a 21st try of the season on 34 minutes only for scrum-half John Cooney to knock on following Henshaw’s break and offload, with the try-line at his mercy.

But Pat Lam’s troops won a penalty at the scrum shortly after and Ronaldson made it three-from-three from the tee before curling a fourth penalty narrowly wide on the stroke of half-time, leaving his side to settle for a 9-5 advantage at the break.

That soon became 16-5 after the interval as Henshaw proved he is just as comfortable at full-back as centre by diving over in the corner – Ronaldson nailing the tricky conversion.

With the game being played at a frantic pace, Treviso responded in kind following a quick break from their own 22.

After turning the ball over, the Italians raced away and despite Connacht’s scrambling defence, full-back Hayward had enough to dot down before converting his own try to narrow the deficit to 16-12.

However, McCartney gave the visitors a mountain to climb on 51 minutes as a brilliantly-worked line-out let the replacement hooker in for the try and Ronaldson’s conversion extended the lead to 11 points.

And with five minutes remaining, Healy grabbed a third try for the hosts, as he demonstrated his considerable pace to break away from the ten-metre line.

Despite late pressure they couldn’t force the bonus-point score and indeed it was Treviso who grabbed a late consolation try as they turned the ball over in their own 22 and raced the length of the pitch, Gori touching down for the score.

To buy tickets for the GUINNESS PRO12 Grand Final click here. Also follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12.