Ruzza hat-trick puts 14-man Zebre away

MATCH REPORT: Federico Ruzza scored a hat-trick of tries to help Benetton to a comfortable 40-17 victory over Zebre in Parma on Saturday.

Benetton completed a quickfire United Rugby Championship double against their Italian rivals at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

But Zebre, beaten 38-5 by Benetton on Christmas Eve, gave their opponents a major fright before slipping to an 11th successive league defeat of the season.

Zebre had fullback Lorenzo Pani sent off seven minutes before half-time for a dangerous tackle on his opposite number Matteo Minozzi.

And although Benetton ultimately wiped out a 10-point interval advantage, they were made to work hard for a victory that took them into the URC’s top-eight.

Captain Federico Ruzza led the way by scoring a hat-trick of tries, while there were also touchdowns for flanker Manuel Zuliani, centre Tommaso Menoncello and replacement prop Federico Zani,, with Benetton’s former Wasps fly-half Jacob Umaga adding three conversions and Tomas Albornoz two.

Zebre led through early scores by centre Erich Cronje and wing Jacopo Trulla, while fly-half Tiff Eden kicked two conversions and a penalty, but Benetton had enough firepower to claim a sixth successive win in the fixture after scoring 33 unanswered second-half points.

Benetton suffered a miserable opening eight minutes, seeing lock Scott Scrafton carried off injured and conceding two tries.

Cronje claimed Zebre’s opener before Scrafton had barely left the pitch, weaving his way through a wafer-thin Benetton defence for a try that Eden converted.

Then Trulla sprinted 80 metres for an opportunist try, again converted by Eden, before Benetton hit back when Zuliani crossed from close range and Umaga added the extras.

Pani was then dismissed for his challenge on Minozzi, but Zebre still finished the first-half in control as a 40-metre Eden penalty made it 17-7 at the interval.

Benetton knew they had to make an immediate statement of intent in the second period, and it arrived after just four minutes when slick passing created space for skipper Ruzza to touch down wide out, and Umaga’s successful conversion narrowed the gap to three points.

It proved a dominant display during the third quarter by Benetton, and they went ahead for the first time when Ruzza capitalised on poor line-out work by Zebre to claim his second try, again converted by Umaga.

Zebre had run out of steam after a courageous effort, and Menoncello sealed a bonus-point victory for Benetton when he touched down 12 minutes from time, before Zani crossed and Ruzza completed his hat-trick.

Player of the match

Federico Ruzza: the Benetton captain led by example for his team, inspiring a second-half recovery act after Zebre Parma bossed the opening 33 minutes before full-back Lorenzo Pani was sent off. Second-row forward Ruzza scored three tries, including an interception effort, as Benetton wiped out a 17-7 interval deficit and scored 33 unanswered points during the second period.

Play of the match

Zebre, despite not having recorded a United Rugby Championship win this season, made a blistering start and led 14-0 after eight minutes. With Benetton still regrouping after seeing lock Scott Scrafton carried off injured inside the opening minute, Zebre centre Erich Cronje underlined his team’s attacking potential with a blistering solo effort that showcased classic midfield play of an eye for the gap, an outside break and scorching pace to finish off, leaving Benetton’s defence in shreds.

The scorers

For Zebre
Tries: Cronje, Trulla
Cons: Eden 2
Pens: Eden

For Benetton
Tries: Zuliani, Ruzza 3, Menoncello, Zani
Cons: Umaga 3, Albornoz 2

Red card: Lorenzo Pani (Zebrte, 32)
Yellow card: Tommaso Menoncello (Benetton, 79)

Teams

Zebre: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Kobus Van Wyk, 13 Erich Cronjé, 12 Enrico Lucchin (captain), 11 Jacopo Trulla, 10 Tiff Eden, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Taina Fox-Matamua, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Giacomo Ferrari, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Jan Uys, 3 Muhamed Hasa, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Juan Pitinari.
Replacements: 16 Marco Manfredi, 17 Paolo Buonfiglio, 18 Riccardo Genovese, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Luca Andreani, 21 Ratko Jelic, 22 Nicolò Teneggi, 23 Matteo Moscardi.

Benetton: 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Edoardo Padovani, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Ignacio Brex, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Henry Time-Stowers, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza (captain), 4 Scott Scrafton, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Cherif Traore.
Replacements: 16 Siua Maile, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Filippo Alongi, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 Manfredi Albanese, 22 Tomas Albornoz, 23 Filippo Drago.

Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Italy)
Referee assistants: Clara Munarini (Italy), Riccardo Angelucci (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)