Riley Higgins, a centre with Hurricanes, joining for the new season.Was there something else in the plus column? Oh aye. We won a game.Only a fourth home win in the league in what has been a trying season for our supporters who turned up in record numbers for a home game against an Italian side.It wasn't a thing of beauty but there were bits and pieces to applaud.There was a first try from Connor Boyle since November 2023 against Leinster.

He is out of contract at the end of the season and after missing the whole of last year I'd be happy to see him get an extension.It was a strong debut for Hector Patterson. He looked very comfortable and confident. His box kicking was on point and his passing, when not hindered by our backline not being ready, was good.I very much enjoyed seeing him shove Zebre seven Giovanni Locatelli out of the way at a ruck in the second half and the try he scored before the break with a nice assist from Malelili Satala was the icing on the cake.We've had too many occasions where the second half and specifically the last 20 minutes have been our downfall so it was nice to see the team come from behind twice as the game got towards the finish and for the soon-to-be-much-missed Boan Venter to secure the win as the final whistle loomed.No one will be getting carried away.

We got a little lucky. Zebre have been propping up the table all season and it could be argued their choice to kick a couple of penalties as opposed to going to the corner may have cost them.We stuck to the task though and with tries in both the fifth and 76th minute it was at least a 71-minute performance.We face Sharks at the Hive on Friday. We have only beaten them once. It was in 2022 and ironically that was in South Africa.We may need a bigger effort.Sandy Smith can be found at The Burgh Watch