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Player about to throw the ball into a lineout
The Lions remain winless after round three of this season’s United Rugby Championship series. Benetton ran in six tries to two to defeat the team from Johannesburg, 41-15 in Treviso, Italy.
Beating Benetton at home has been a very tough ask over the past few years. Only Leinster and the Bulls managed to do so last season.
The hosts enjoyed a quick start. With three tries early on, they raced to a 17-3 lead after just 20 minutes. The Lions finally went over six minutes later, courtesy of prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye.
But Benetton struck back through right wing, Louis Lynagh, who scored his second try of the encounter. And assured the home side of a very valuable bonus point.
Despite having just 51% of the territory and possession, Benetton enjoyed a 24-10 half-time lead. The second half was a much tighter affair. And the two teams just couldn’t turn opportunities into points.
Benetton succeeded with a penalty. And then, with 10 minutes to go, Lynagh went over for his third try of the day.
Lions’ replacement, Conrad van Vuuren also crashed over for a try, but it was little consolation for the tourists.
The Lions continued to play with a lack of intensity. And Lynagh went over for his fourth to secure a convincing 41-15 victory for the Italian club.
“We just made too many errors at crucial times. We had two lineouts which we missed, we had two carries in their 22 which we conceded turnover ball, and they scored from both. So, I think we created enough opportunities, but just not clinical enough,” says Ivan Van Rooyen, Lions head coach.
The Lions will hope to finally turn their fortunes around, when they face the Scarlets in Johannesburg next weekend.
Benetton will travel to Scotland, where they will take on Edinburgh.
