Benetton victorious in the Italian derby

At the Stadio Lanfranchi, the match opened at a furious pace as the Lions struck immediately. A powerful maul rolled forward, Zuliani broke down the touchline, and a perfectly timed offload sent Ignacio Mendy clear to unleash his pace and score a superb try. Jacob Umaga added the conversion. Zebre struggled to contain the green-and-whites’ early momentum, and Ferrari was shown a yellow card for a deliberate infringement at the ruck. Benetton opted for the posts, with Umaga calmly slotting the penalty.

From the restart, Zebre won a turnover and chose to kick at goal, with Da Re successful to open the scoring for the home side. Despite enjoying a numerical advantage, the Lions were ill-disciplined, allowing Zebre another shot at goal. Once again, Da Re was accurate, narrowing the gap to 6–10. A try by Odogwu was then ruled out following a TMO review, as he was deemed not to have grounded the ball in the left corner. Play soon returned to fifteen aside.

Benetton’s scrum dominated and earned a penalty, which Umaga converted to extend the lead. The tempo remained high, and Lamaro was yellow-carded for a high tackle on Da Re. With the Lions reduced to fourteen, Zebre were awarded a penalty for offside directly in front of the posts, and Da Re made no mistake, bringing the score to 9–13. Lamaro returned from the sin bin, and just before the break Benetton won another penalty for an offside by the Parma side. Umaga converted again, sending the teams into half-time at 9–16.

The second half began with Zebre scoring their first try of the match, as Gesi finished off a sweeping attacking move. Da Re converted to level the scores at 16–16. Benetton thought they had responded through Spagnolo, but the try was disallowed due to a forward pass from Menoncello in the build-up.

The Lions then applied sustained pressure, driving to within five metres of the Zebre line. Another powerful maul followed, and a deliberate infringement by the home side resulted in a yellow card for Mazza and the award of a penalty try to Benetton. Although another Odogwu try was later disallowed for obstruction by Mendy, Treviso continued to build momentum and introduced fresh legs, with Aminu, Gasperini, Pasquali, Ruzza, Cannone, Fa’aso’o and Werchon all entering the field.

At the third attempt, Paolo Odogwu finally crossed the line. A slick passing move saw Fa’aso’o release the winger, who beat the final defender and scored in the corner. Umaga converted, extending the lead to 16–30. With both sides back to fifteen players, Benetton secured the attacking bonus point through Louis Werchon, who finished off a relentless multi-phase attack close to the Zebre line. Umaga added the extras before being replaced by Smith for the final substitution.

Zebre managed a late consolation try through Faissal, converted by Dominguez, but the derby concluded with a 37–23 victory for the Lions. Benetton claimed the bonus point and the full five points, marking their fourth consecutive win across league and cup competitions.

Scorers: 2′ try Mendy tr. Umaga, 6′ p. Umaga, 9′ p. From King, 12′ p. From King, 19′ p. Umaga, 30′ p. From King, 40′ p. Umaga; 42′ Gesi goal tr. From King, 52′ technical try Benetton Rugby, 62′ Odogwu try tr. Umaga, 69′ goal Werchon tr. Umaga, 79′ Faissal goal tr. Dominguez.

Notes: Yellow card in the 6th minute for Ferrari (ZEB), yellow card in the 24th minute for Lamaro (BEN), yellow card in the 52nd minute for Mazza (ZEB). Conversions: Zebre Parma 2/2 (Da Re 2/2); Benetton Rugby 3/3 (Umaga 3/3). Free kicks: Zebre Parma 3/3 (Da Re 3/3); Benetton Rugby 3/3 (Umaga 3/3). Man of the match: Tommaso Menoncello (BEN).