Benetton into top four after Dragons rout
MATCH REPORT: Impressive Benetton beat the Dragons 34-14 to climb into fourth place in the United Rugby Championship.
Giacomo Nicotera, Lorenzo Cannone, Edoardo Padovani and Mattia Bellini scored tries for the Italian side, with Tomas Albornoz adding 14 points to maintain his 100 percent goal-kicking record this season.
Rio Dyer and Steff Hughes claimed second-half tries for the Dragons, who stay 13th in the table and have not won in Treviso since 2015.
Benetton dominated from the early moments with their scrum and maul putting the Dragons under severe pressure.
Albornoz dispatched an eighth-minute penalty and Benetton’s confidence was quickly reflected by their desire to go for the corner rather than take another easy three points.
Dragons could not stop a driving line-out and hooker Nicotera crashed over, with Argentinean fly-half Albornoz converting for a 10-point lead inside 13 minutes.
Benetton extended their lead after 20 minutes with a flowing move that went from left to right as the Dragons’ defence ran out of numbers.
Marcus Watson was held up in one corner before the ball was recycled, and Padovani’s floated pass saw Cannone stroll over. The flawless Albornoz added the extras again.
Dragons improved slightly before the break and winger Dyer hacked on spilt ball in the Benetton midfield.
Dyer felt he was impeded as he scented a breakaway try but referee Sam Grove-White said no and Benetton cleared the danger.
Dragons turned down the chance of three points before half-time, but the Welsh region did get on the scoreboard after 46 minutes. Jack Dixon and Max Clark combined well and Dyer squeezed over in the corner, with JJ Hanrahan converting.
Albornoz’s second penalty extended Benetton’s lead and the hosts narrowly preserved their advantage when Jared Rosser was pulled down close to the line.
Benetton regathered their composure and Albornoz made an incisive dummy break before setting up Padovani to go under the posts for another converted score.
Hughes then scythed through the home defence, and Sam Davies converted to break the 500-point barrier for the Dragons.
But Benetton responded with a superb try 10 minutes from time that secured a bonus point, replacement Bellini profiting at the end of a sweeping move.
Man of the match
Federico Ruzza’s excellent line-out work and aggressive mauling saw Benetton build a strong forward platform. The lock forward was also prominent in the loose to punch holes in a Dragons defence that struggled to cope at times.
Play of the match
Benetton kept the best for last with a wonderful fourth try sealing their bonus point. Excellent handling saw the Dragons exposed in midfield before centre Nacho Brex allowed Bellini to race under the posts.
The scorers
For Benetton
Tries: Nicotera, Cannone, Padovani, Bellini
Cons: Albornoz 4
Pens: Albornoz 2
For the Dragons
Tries: Dyer, Hughes
Cons: Hanrahan, Davies
Teams
Benetton: 15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Marcus Watson, 13 Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Ignacio Mendy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (captain), 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro, 6 Manuel Zuliani, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Scott Scrafton, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Ivan Nemer.
Replacements: 16 Manuel Arroyo, 17 Thomas Gallo , 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Toa Halafihi, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Marco Zanon, 23 Mattia Bellini.
Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Max Clark, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Ben Fry, 6 Sean Lonsdale, 5 Ben Carter (captain), 4 Joe Davies, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Rob Evans.
Replacements: 16 Bradley Roberts, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Ross Moriarty, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Steff Hughes.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy) & Simone Boaretto (Italy)
TMO: Colin Stanley (Scotland)
