'It was wild': Zebre's win over Sharks
SPOTLIGHT: Zebre Parma ended their 22-match losing run in the United Rugby Championship with a 12-10 win over the Sharks on a night of tears and high emotion at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.
It was an amazing weekend for the Italians team as Benetton triumphed 20-17 against the Stormers – finalists for the past two years – in a titanic tussle out in Treviso.
The win means that Benetton is the only unbeaten team after the opening four rounds of matches.
Zebre hadn’t tasted victory in the league since April 2022 and the scenes reflected that on the final whistle in Parma, as defence coach Richard Hodges recounts.
“It was wild. There were grown men crying,” Hodges said.
“The first person I saw was George Biagi, our director of rugby operations. He was just in tears and the girls who work in the office likewise.
“The kit man was hugging everybody, saying thank you with tears streaming down his face.
“It was just such a relief because this group has just been battered for a season and a half.
” There are a lot of players in our squad who have been there 18 months, two years and had never won a game.
“They didn’t know what to do. They got into the changing room and they were trying to find a song to sing!
“So there was a lot of emotion. It was good to see and quite humbling. Finally, that cloud is lifted.
“It was just a release of emotion and that monkey is off the back now, so it means we can crack on.
“It’s been coming. It’s about changing perceptions and I think in these early games we have done that. We are beginning to get some respect back and that’s what it’s all about.”
#⃣ICYMI @sharksrugby coach John Plumtree is not a happy man after a winless start to the @URCOfficial season😡#Rugby 🏉#RugbyUnion🌏
🔗https://t.co/F0sGiidjBA— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) November 13, 2023
All of Zebre’s points came via the boot, with fullback Geronimo Prisciantelli landing three kicks at goal and wing Jacopa Trulla also on target.
Outlining the key factors behind the victory, Hodges said: “We only gave three penalties away in the whole game. We were extremely well disciplined and finally, we were a good version of what I want us to be defensively.
“But the big difference between the two teams was our kick strategy. We won the aerial battle hands down.”
Next up, it’s Cardiff in Parma on Friday, a fixture which will have real resonance for Hodges as he spent a decade on the coaching staff at the Arms Park before heading for northern Italy this summer.
“That will be a nice one,” he said.
“I have had a stream of text messages from Rey Lee-Lo taking the mickey and saying they are ready for us!
“I am going out for dinner with Matt Sherratt on Thursday. It will be good to catch up with him. He is the best coach I have ever worked with and a good mate.”
Hodges concluded: “Last year, Zebre got 11 league points in the whole season.
“So we have set ourselves a target of trying to get those 11 points in the first five games because four of them are at home.
“We have already got nine, so we aim to get at least two against Cardiff.”
As for Benetton, their game against the Stormers was a real harum-scarum, helter-skelter affair with both teams throwing caution to the wind as the contest became increasingly open.
Ultimately, it was a wonderfully worked try, finished off by replacement flank Alessandro Izekor, that proved the match-winner, with the hosts holding firm in the frantic final exchanges to emerge as the only side yet to taste defeat this season.
