An under-strength Ulster team did just enough to see off Benetton Rugby 15-10 at Stadio di Monigo, with second half tries within from Sean Reidy and Rob Herring making the difference in a game littered with errors from both sides.
Ulster’s second win on the road in this season’s GUINNESS PRO14 lifts Dan McFarland’s men up to second spot in the Conference B table on 25 points, ahead of both Edinburgh and the Scarlets and just four points behind leaders Leinster.
Deprived of half-a-dozen regular starters who are away on Ireland duty, Ulster lined up with youth throughout the ranks, particularly in the back-line where Academy player James Hume got his first start at centre, and winger Robert Baloucoune hoped to build on his promising debut last week against the Dragons.
However, Ulster’s first half performance was decidedly lacklustre, with only 30% possession and a mere 18% in territorial advantage. Ireland Under-20 international Hume came into the game as it progressed, contributing a try-saving tackle; while Baloucoune impressed again until an injury saw his day cut short at the half-hour mark.
Less impacted by international commitments than their opponents, Benetton had big names such as Tomasso Allan and Jayden Hayward released from the Italy squad to play in Treviso. They got off to a perfect start with a second-minute driving maul teeing up hooker Hame Faiva to power over.
The Italians continued to dominate from the restart, Ulster’s cause not helped by a lost lineout – their 21st of the campaign to date – but better defence against their next rolling maul forced an eventual knock-on. Undeterred, Benetton came again, winger Ratuva Tavuyara just held up by Henry Speight as he attempted to touch down from Hayward’s pass.
As the first half wore on, Ulster struggled to make any impression in Italian territory at all, the lion’s share of possession firmly with the hosts until a poor forward pass gifted the visitors a scrum which allowed them to breach the halfway line.
A penalty soon followed, expertly dispatched by Billy Burns from distance to bring his side to within four points of the Italians on the half-hour at 7-3. Nonetheless, Ulster were fortunate to go off at half-time with that scoreline in place. Hume produced a fine tackle on Tommaso Benvenuti right on the try-line, initially holding man and ball up as the winger attempted to ground, then forcing a knock-on with the force of his challenge’s follow-through.
Much better play from Ulster saw man-of-the-match Sean Reidy dive over just three minutes into the second period, thanks to a strong break from Stuart McCloskey and David Shanahan’s sharp pass. Despite Burns’ missed conversion, an Italian infringement at the next scrum gave the out-half the opportunity to kick deep into the 22.
The lineout drive ran like clockwork, and while the Benetton defence stopped the first surge just short of the line, quick recycling and a neat sidestep from McCloskey looked to have brought the centre his third try of the season – only for TMO Stefano Penne to disallow the try with a marginal call. He ruled that the Ireland international had lost control of the ball just as he stretched to ground it.
Ulster retained possession, however, and once flanker Michele Lamaro had been sent to the sin-bin for intentionally collapsing a maul, powerful driving got hooker Rob Herring, another of the province’s Ireland call-ups, over in the 54th minute for a well-taken try.
Burns’ successful conversion gave his side an eight-point cushion (15-7), reduced to five on 63 minutes courtesy of an Allan penalty, and as the momentum began to swing back in the hosts’ favour, Ulster did well to force them back into their own half and keep them contained there until six minutes from time.
At this stage, a penalty on halfway gave the Italians lineout ball in the Ulster 22, but they contrived to lose possession three times in as many minutes, before a final surge in the dying seconds eventually broke down with another knock-on.
There is a three-week break in PRO14 fixtures, as the international season kicks into gear with the much-anticipated November Tests. With Academy boss Kieran Campbell taking the coaching reins, Ulster will be in action next Friday night when they welcome the Uruguayan national team for a unique encounter at Kingspan Stadium (kick-off 7.30pm). Tickets are available to buy here.
Giving his post-match reaction, Ulster head coach McFarland said: “It was really important. This game for us, against a good Treviso side who are obviously challenging us in the league, was crucial. We knew that if we won this we would put a little bit of difference between us (and the Scarlets) going into the break.
“We put ourselves under pressure in the first half by turning the ball over a lot. They were really quick onto the ball and some of our accuracy at the breakdown and speed to contact was not great, but we showed much more urgency in the second half.
“Even though they kept coming after our ball, we managed to put some phases together and that resulted in pressure and tries. To go into half time just 7-3 down, having absorbed a lot of pressure, was testament to our defence, so I was really pleased with that aspect.”
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