Benetton edge Edinburgh at the death
MATCH REPORT: Benetton scored a last-minute try to snatch a 21-18 victory over Edinburgh after Mosese Tuipulotu had been sent off late on in the United Rugby Championship match at Stadio di Monigo.
Jacob Umaga opened the scoring for the hosts with a penalty, but Edinburgh soon went ahead in the 18th minute when Ross McCann collected a cross-field kick from Ross Thompson to touch down on the flank.
Thompson and Umaga exchanged penalties before Benetton broke down the right and Ignacio Mendy went over, with the conversion missed. Another penalty from Thompson in added time saw the visitors edge 13-11 in front at the break.
Edinburgh – who won away to Munster last time out – extended their lead early in the second half when Ewan Ashman was driven over from a maul, but Thompson could not land the extras.
In the 63rd minute, Benetton wing Paolo Odogwu dived over after a break down the left to reduce the gap back to just two points, with the conversion missed.
The match turned in the 76th minute when Tuipulotu was shown a red card following a TMO review for a dangerous tackle, which was deemed head contact from the Edinburgh centre’s shoulder.
Benetton made the most of their man advantage, with Alessandro Izekor scoring in the final minute after a fine solo run to complete the comeback.
The scorers:
For Benetton:
Tries: Mendy, Odogwu, Izekor
Pens: Umaga 2
For Edinburgh:
Tries: McCann, Ashman
Con: Thompson
Pens: Thompson 2
Red card: Mosese Tuipulotu (Edinburgh, 75′ – foul play, dangerous tackle)
Yellow card: Ben Muncaster (Edinburgh, 19′)
Teams:
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Ignacio Brex, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Eli Snyman (captain), 4 Scott Scrafton, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosué Zilocchi, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Riccardo Favretto, 21 Michele Lamaro, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Tomas Albornoz.
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Matt Currie, 13 James Lang, 12 Mosese Tuipulotu, 11 Ross McCann, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ben Vellacott (captain), 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Ben Muncaster, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Paddy Harrison, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Glen Young, 20 Freddy Douglas, 21 Ali Price, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Jack Brown
Referee: Craig Evans
Assistant referees: Gianluca Gnecchi, Alex Frasson
TMO: Keith David
