An 80th-minute penalty from fullback Rhyno Smith spared Benetton’s blushes as they secured a gritty 11-10 win over Italian rivals Zebre.
The dramatic win, epitomised by a manic final 10 minutes, now moves Benetton up to 11th in the URC table but compounds the Parma-outfit’s misery after a tough week where they were put up for sale.
In classic derby fashion, the game began in scrappy fashion. Benetton dominated much of the possession and territory, and also had numerical advantage after Scott Gregory was sent to the sin-bin, but sloppy errors at crucial moments allowed Zebre to escape scot-free.
Italian international Louis Lynaugh had the best chance of the opening quarter for Benetton, with what would have been the try of season so far after a remarkable finish in the corner, but he was judged to be just in touch before dotting the ball down. Again, Zebre were let off.
But, they did finally make their dominance count, as Leonardo Marin crossed from short range after a well-worked strike play.
Zebre nearly hit back instantly – with their first proper chance of the half – but Giacomo Da Re spilt the ball just metres from the line and the opportunity went begging.
The hosts again motored down towards the Zebre 22, but a crucial turnover denied them another golden opportunity and kept the Benetton advantage to just five points at the break.
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Benetton again came out of the traps quickest in the second-half, but again crucial errors cost them just as they looked like scoring.
Zebre opened the scoring for the second 40 with a penalty, but Benetton quickly nullified that with one of their own. It should have been two, with an easy one on offer, but Marin’s kick was off-target.
This miss felt like a turning point in the game, and momentum quickly shifted to the visitors. After a sustained period of pressure in the Benetton 22, towering lock Andrea Zambonin burrowed his way over from short range, despite appearing to have committed a double movement to ground the ball. Da Re’s conversion sailed through the uprights, giving them the lead for the first time with just seven minutes to go.
Benetton weren’t going down without a fight though, and a monstrous scrum on halfway gave them a chance to respond. A great touch-finder from Marin then allowed them to set up camp in the Zebre five-metre, but after some smash-and-bash yet ANOTHER knock-on handed possession back to the visitors.
With the clock winding down, the hosts had one final throw of the dice as they sought a dramatic win. A delicious break from Lynaugh looked to have broken Zebre hearts, but his offload fell to the floor.
Just as Zebre looked to close the game out, an incredibly cheap penalty as they looked to booth the ball out of play gave Rhyno Smith an easy three-pointer virtually in front of the sticks, and he made no mistake to snatch a dramatic victory for his side.
The teams
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Ignacio Brex, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza (c), 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Mirco Spagnolo
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, Nahuel Tetaz, 18 Giosué Zilocchi, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Jacob Umaga, 23 Leonardo Marin
Zebre Parma: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 14 Scott Gregory, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Bautista Stavile, 6 Giacomo Ferrari, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Ion Neculai, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Danilo Fischetti (c)
Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Muhamed Hasa, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Iacopo Bianchi, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Filippo Drago, 23 Rusiate Nasove
Venue: Stadio Monigo
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR), Alex Frasson (FIR)
TMO: Stefano Penne (FIR)
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/manic-finish-to-italian-derby-as-benetton-benefit-from-zebre-error-after-controversial-try-almost-decides-dramatic-clash
