Albornoz puts Benetton into top eight
MATCH REPORT: Tomas Albornoz scored 15 points, including a 76th-minute penalty, as Benetton sneaked back into the United Rugby Championship top eight with a one-point (20-19) win over Cardiff at Stadio Monigo, in Treviso, on Saturday.
Cardiff left Italy with a losing bonus point.
The Blue & Blacks battled admirably throughout the encounter against a star-studded Benetton outfit but indiscipline and mistakes proved costly.
Cardiff raced into a 14-3 lead following tries from James Botham and Ellis Bevan but could not make further opportunities count as Benetton benefitted from the 50-50 decisions and worked their way back.
Benetton led at the break after an Albornoz try and one from the whistle of referee Hollie Davidson.
Cardiff did manage to regain the lead following an Evan Lloyd try, but it was short-lived as Benetton were given a late penalty and made no mistake.
Benetton are seventh, while the Blue & Blacks now sit just outside the play-off places with four rounds of URC action.
The scorers
For Benetton
Tries: Albornoz, Penalty try
Cons: Albornoz, the penalty try does not require a conversion
Pens: Albornoz 2
For Cardiff
Tries: E Lloyd 2, Bevan
Cons: Botham, Sheedy
Yellow cards: Ben Donnell (Cardiff, 28), Rory Jennings (Cardiff, 39), Cam Winnett (Cardiff, 77)
Teams:
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Ignacio Brex, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Riccardo Favretto, 5 Eli Snyman (captain), 4 Scott Scrafton, 3 Giosué Zilocchi, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Siua Maile, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Federico Ruzza, 21 Michele Lamaro, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Jacob Umaga
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett,14 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Regan Grace, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 James Botham, 5 Teddy Williams (captain), 4 Ben Donnell, 3 Rhys Litterick, 2 Evan Lloyd, 1 Danny Southworth
Replacements: 16 Dafydd Hughes, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Joe Cowell, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Alex Mann, 21 Thomas Young, 22 Johan Mulder, 23 Ben Thomas.
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Filippo Russo (Italy), Darlo Merli (Italy)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
