Bulls' second-half surge sinks Benetton in Treviso
URC REPORT: The Bulls produced a strong second-half performance to beat Benetton 44-22 in their final tour match in Treviso on Friday.
The visitors headed into the match after defeats to Glasgow Warriors and Munster, but they shifted to a higher gear in Italy ahead of their trip back home.
After going into the break 3-9 down, the visitors outscored their opponents by five tries to one for a comfortable win in the end.
Chris Smith contributed 13 points to the Bulls’ cause, with replacement Morne Steyn accounting for six.
Tomas Albornoz kicked Benetton in front in the 12th minute and doubled the hosts’ lead from distance nine minutes later.
The home side were on top in terms of territory and possession and although Smith got the Bulls off the mark five minutes from the break, Albornoz restored the six-point margin before the players retreated to the changing rooms.
The match was in need of a spark when Embrose Papier showed an impressive turn of pace and good awareness to send Ruan Nortje over for the game’s opening try five minutes into the second half.
Smith converted to make it 13-9 to the visitors, before Albornoz had Benetton back within one with another penalty.
A sustained period of pressure on the Benetton line culminated in Elrigh Louw crashing over under the posts after 50 minutes, with Smith again splitting the posts to add the extras.
Benetton responded, cranking their own attacking intent up a gear, and they were rewarded when Manuel Zuliani was sent under the posts and Albornoz made it a single-point game again before nudging his side back in front with a penalty.
Smith restored the Bulls’ advantage from the tee before Jan-Hendrik Wessels survived a visit to the TMO for a possible foot in touch to score what looked a decisive try nine minutes from time.
There was no way back for Benetton when Marcell Coetzee barged over four minutes later, with Stravino Jacobs adding some gloss and Steyn converting all three of the late tries.
Player of the Match
It was a game dominated by the forwards and Marcell Coetzee stood out from the crowd.
He made more successful carries (9) and beat more defenders (4) than anyone else on the pitch, while also wrapping up the try bonus.
Play of the match
The match was crying out for a spark when Embrose Papier’s pick-and-go created the opportunity for Ruan Nortje to go over and kick off a fruitful second half for the Bulls.
The scorers:
For Benetton:
Try: Zuliani
Con: Albornoz
Pens: Albornoz 5
For Bulls:
Tries: Nortje, Louw, Wessels, Coetzee, Jacobs
Cons: Smith 2, Steyn 3
Pens: Smith 3
Teams:
Benetton: 15 Giacomo Da Re, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Ignacio Brex, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Mattia Bellini, 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 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Toa Halafihi, 21 Manfredi Albanese, 22 Tommaso Menoncello, 23 Marcus Watson.
Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 David Kriel, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Wandisile Simelane, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Marco van Staden, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Janko Swanepoel, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Walt Steenkamp, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Stravino Jacobs.
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Filippo Russo (Italy), Alex Frasson (Italy)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Source: @URCOfficial
