Benetton made some real progress during the 2023/24 season, finishing 7th in the regular season, qualifying for the Investec Champions Cup, and making the playoffs.
They were narrowly defeated 30-23 by the Vodacom Bulls in the quarter-final stages at Loftus by Marco Bortolami's side but have plenty to be proud of and look set to be a real force in 2024/25.
The Trevison-based outfit already has the likes of Italy captain Michele Lamaro, Malakai Fekitoa, Jacob Umaga, Ignacio Brex, Rhyno Smith, and Tommasso Menoncello on their books, and have added further star power with the signings of Matt Gallagher and Louis Lynagh, with the former making his debut for Italy last month.
They scored an impressive 51 tries last season, racking up 411 points, and securing some big wins – particularly on the road.
Away from home, they defeated Cardiff on the opening day, before going on to pull off big wins away against Edinburgh and the Hollywoodbets Sharks too.
Key Players
Rhyno Smith was one of the outstanding performers in 2023/24 for the Italian side and he will be a key member of the squad. He made an astonishing 808 metres in 15 appearances last season and also chipped in with two tries, nine conversions, and a drop goal.
Winger Ignacio Mendy touched down on seven occasions last season with flanker Alessandro Izekor also bagging himself five tries.
2024 Six Nations Player of the Championship Tommaso Menocello got on the scoresheet three times in his seven appearances and is still only 21.
Ins & Outs
Ins:
Louis Lynagh – Harlequins
Matt Gallagher – Bath
Lautaro Bazan Velez – Rovigo
Riccardo Genovese – Zebre Parma
Marco Manfredi – Zebre Parma
Outs:
Giacomo Nicotera – Stade Francais
Giacomo Da Re – Zebre Parma
Joaquin Riera – Rouen
Gianmarco Lucchesi – Toulon
Giovanni Pettinelli – Mogliano Veneto
Edoardo Padovani – Mogliano Veneto
Marco Lazzaroni – Mogliano Veneto
Santiago Ruiz – released
Federico Zani – released
Henry Stowers – released
Dewaldt Duvenage – released
Sam Hidalgo-Clyne – released
Marcus Watson – retired
Matteo Minozzi – retired
