Why Lions' 'Boeboes' has Benetton on edge

SPOTLIGHT: Benetton veteran Dewaldt Duvenage says the Lions’ first visit to Treviso will be made less daunting by Andries ‘Boeboes’ Coetzee sharing his experience of Stadio Monigo with the tourists.

A 13-Test Springbok, Coetzee returned to the Lions last year after a one-season stint with Benetton.

“Boeboes played with us last season and he will give the Lions some inside info on us and help them to play the conditions in Italy at this time of year,” said Duvenage, the former Stormers scrumhalf who moved to Benetton in 2018 and is now among a group of South Africans vital to the Italian team’s United Rugby Championship campaign.

The veteran is one of six Benetton players who have South African roots, including superstar fullback Rhyno Smith and Italian internationals Sebastian Negri and Braam Steyn.

“For us, it’s really important to have great depth in every position,” Duvenage said. “We are losing a big amount of players to the national team, so quality overseas players are really important.

“This year is a bit tough, because during the season we have a quota of only seven foreigners in the matchday-23. When the national boys are away, they are more lenient about the rule. It’s really important for us to be ready to go when it comes to this period of the season.”

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𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧

An Italian job awaits… Wishing our Emirates Lions touring squad all safe travels as they head off to Treviso to face @BenettonRugby in Round 16 of the @URCOfficial_RSA.#LionsPride🦁@vodacom | #URC | #UnitedWeRise pic.twitter.com/MAA8zC8yK2

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— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) March 21, 2023

Benetton earned plenty of respect from South African fans when they stunned the Bulls in the Rainbow Cup final in 2021, following that up by spoiling the Stormers’ URC debut with a victory in Round One last season.

However, since then it has been lean pickings for the Italians against South African opposition, with four straight losses in the URC.

“We are still really proud of our performance in the Rainbow Cup. It showed we are on the right track and it’s really important to build a winning culture. The latest few performances have been disappointing. I think we were in the games at half-time and then we just couldn’t finish them. In most of the games we struggled with our set piece in the second half. We know in South Africa, the DNA when things get tight, they resort to their driving mauls and scrum penalties.

“We need to be ready and prepared for that. We know that the South African teams will have all their Springboks back for these games, so it will be quite a challenge.”

Next on the menu for Benetton is a URC clash against the Lions in Treviso.

The last time Benetton met the Lions was at Ellis Park in April and the hosts rallied in the second half to win 37-29.

For Duvenage, the Lions’ wins over Glasgow Warriors and the Bulls show how dangerous Benetton’s opponents will be.

“The Lions have shown that they are back on the winning ways after the results against the Bulls and Glasgow. Last year and at the beginning of this year, they showed that they do travel well. They have a strong pack and some good finishers at the back.”

With three round-robin fixtures to go, the URC play-Offs are within sight. After missing out on the top eight last season, Duvenage is eager to help Benetton secure a quarterfinal place this year.

“There are three games left and we need to win two or maybe even all of them to reach the quarterfinals. We are in the running with Connacht and the Sharks for that seventh and eighth spot. With our national players back, we need to be smart about how we will manage them because they have just come back from a brutal Six Nations campaign.

“These are the most important games of the season because they set up the last stretch, which we all know is the business end of the season.”