Challenge Cup: a good Benetton is not enough, Lyon passes 25-10 (ph. LOU Rugby)
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A test of maturity was asked, after a difficult period between postponements and positivity, in the presence of an opponent at the top of French rugby. The test was there, even if the result was missing. Benetton held their own against Lyon for 70 minutes, until a very questionable yellow card left Lucchesi’s team of 14 Bortolami, who – short of oxygen – could no longer hold up the French wave .
The chronicle
As foreseeable, Lyon is part of it all. Benetton remains in the trenches for 3 minutes, resists, defends and starts again at the first opportunity. Padovani tries the break in his own 22 and escapes a tackle, finds the support of Brex that flies up to the opponent’s half: the Italian-Argentine sees Ioane, but the pass is not great and the action fades.
After the first assault, the match is balanced: the French try to keep the ball as much as possible, while the lions play for a throw-in and respond blow for blow. At 15 ‘Doussain’s five-a-side football puts Benvenuti in crisis, betrayed by the rebound and the synthetic ground: Taufua picks up the oval and serves it to Kaabèche, who arrives shot and flies to the goal. Berdeu transforms for 7-0
The reaction, however, is immediate: the melee – which had suffered in the first part – finds a great advance (especially from Traoré’s side), then the Benetton multiphase does the rest. To finalize is Brex, who breaks a tackle, pushes on the legs and goes to crush. Marin transforms, from a difficult position and with the wind, for 7-7.
The game is beautiful, because when the lions find space they don’t think twice. Unleashed, Ioane puts the French defense in crisis, but as in the initial occasion, the last step is missing. A generous kick whistled by Tempest, between one cough and the next, allows Lyon to regain the advantage.
Bortolami’s team defends well, but is again put in crisis by a football from Doussain. Dumortier, still taking advantage of a favorable rebound, is fastest of all and goes to score: 15-7. In the most difficult moment, however, Benetton reacts again: many phases and a lot of progress, until Lyon is forced to foul. Marin shortens, 15-10.
Bortolami puts in Halafihi for Steyn and Albornoz for Benvenuti. The Argentine goes to make the opening, with Marin moving to the extreme and Padovani climbing to the wing. Benetton, however, is on the ropes, Lyon gives up the poles to look for the big target and close the game, but they waste the touch at 5 meters by committing a rather naive foul in attack. The changes are also on the front line, with Zani-Lucchesi-Chaparro. Alessandro Garbisi also enters instead of an excellent Braley.
The game is well fought. Benetton tries again, often finds the break but fails to give continuity to the action. On the other hand, the French respond: Padovani saves with a big interception on Laporte, then Alessandro Garbisi saves the lions again with a professional foul, which fortunately only costs a free kick.
Lyon also relies on the bench: in Fainga’a and the 18 caps All Blacks Lima Sopoaga. Inside also Pelissie, scrum-half former Toulon and Montpellier. Just Sopoaga graces Benetton from the pitch. The match does not move from 15-10, despite the onslaught of the French. At 72 ‘Lucchesi is cautioned – even if he tries to roll away as soon as possible and is then overwhelmed by the scrum half – for repeated team fouls.
In 14, the lions no longer have any, and on a ball recovered in the middle of the field the French break through with a beautiful action: Mignot concludes it for 25-10. Benetton tries to the last, but the petrol is out. Bortolami’s team returns to Treviso without points, and with the feeling that they have collected less than they deserved.
There was no breakdown, a home specialty of Lyon, which anchored itself to the meeting points to withstand the flare-ups of Treviso. However, it remains a high-level performance, both from the choral point of view, and from the level of some individualities: the usual Negri and Ioane, the excellent Ruzza and Braley, the newly found Padovani and Steyn. The Challenge will return in April, with a match against Perpignan which at this point becomes decisive. But now we have to think about the last act of Urc before the Six Nations, against the Dragons, because there are some playoffs to reach, and Benetton has shown this evening to be at that level.
Francesco Palma
Lyon: 15 Clément Laporte, 14 Xavier Mignot, 13 Thibaut Regard, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Ethan Dumortier, 10 Leo Berdeu, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Jordan Taufua (c), 7 Patrick Sobela, 6 Dylan Cretin, 5 Temo Mayanavanua, 4 Mickael Guillard, 3 Hamza Kaabèche, 2 Yanis Charcosset, 1 Vivien Devisme
Available: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Jérôme Rey, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Ugo Vignolles, 20 Colby Fainga’a, 21 Jonathan Pélissié, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 Toby Arnold
Weather: Kaabèche 15′, Dumortier 32′, Mignot 76′
Transformations: Berdeu 16 ′, Sopoaga 77 ′
Position: Berdeu 26 ′, Sopoaga 73 ′
Benetton Rugby: 15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Nacho Brex, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Leonardo Marin, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Braam Steyn, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Seb Negri Da Oleggio (c), 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Cherif Traore
Available: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Marco Lazzaroni, 20 Toa Halafihi, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Tomas Albornoz, 23 Marco Zanon
Place: Brex 19 ′
Transformations: Marin 20 ′
Free Kicks: Marin 37 ′
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