Treviso, what a feat: they beat Edinburgh playing 69′ in 14

A nightmare start, but a fairytale ending. This is how Benetton’s victory against Edinburgh 24-17 in the eighth round of the United Rugby Championship could be summed up. Because if things had gone badly with the first ball touched by the lions, a forward from a Scottish kick-off that immediately earned the guests three points, after 11 minutes Treviso was left in 14 for Matteo Minozzi’s red card.

First half

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In receiving the ball kicked by Pyrgos, the winger who arrived a few weeks ago from the rubble of the Wasps spread his leg on landing, hitting Goosen full in the face with his studs, leaving Craig Evans no choice but to extract the tag. However, it is in moments of difficulty that the true value of a team is often seen and Benetton responded immediately by finding their way to the goal with Watson in the 20th minute and keeping possession of the oval without too many problems. Edinburgh finds no space, Treviso strikes again taking full advantage of the yellow card waved in Goosen’s face for a foul near the goal line. The lions choose the fray and Duvenage finds a very free Sebastian Negri right in the area previously covered by Goosen, highlighting a great tactical inattention for the 10-3 Benetton.

Second half

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At the start of the second half, Immelman evened the score at 10-10, but Treviso didn’t give up, on the contrary: Cannone broke the defensive line by crushing the oval in goal, Albornoz converted the 17-10. Lack of discipline and bad luck risk undermining Treviso’s success, because a yellow card in Ruzza forces Bortolami’s men into 13, and a fortuitous clash between two Benetton players still sees Immelman take advantage of a game situation with 15 against 11 in favor of Edinburgh. Duvenage’s invention is needed to regain the advantage in Treviso, with a five-a-side kick over the defense that is crushed in goal by Rhyno Smith, with the other newcomer Jacob Umaga converting the 24-17. The final turned out to be a real wild west, with repeated fouls and another card drawn by Evans in the 78th minute, this time against Smith himself, leaving the green-and-whites again in double numerical inferiority. Treviso resists the final assault by the Scots, also winning the bonus point and performing a real sporting feat in very complicated conditions.

The prospects

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A great signal for the next commitments, considering that Benetton came from three consecutive defeats, including a 53-8 suffered right in Edinburgh. Marco Bortolami’s comment at the end of the match was eloquent: “Taking a red light after such a short time usually puts you in a corner, but the team reacted very well to the difficulties. It’s a victory of character and spirit, but there’s a lot of rugby in this success, it wouldn’t have been possible if the boys hadn’t followed the match plan perfectly even in 14 against 15 “. Now the litmus test in Galway against Connacht, with Benetton called to give a strong signal even away from Monigo to reach the top floors of the Urc standings.