Vodacom United Rugby Championship Round 4 Wrap

 

What a weekend for Italian rugby! First, Zebre Parma ended their 22-match losing run in the Vodacom URC with a 12-10 win over the Hollywoodbets Sharks on a night of tears and high emotion at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

And then Benetton Rugby triumphed 20-17 against the DHL Stormers - finalists for the past two years - in a titanic tussle out in Treviso to stand alone as the only unbeaten team after the opening four rounds of matches.

Zebre hadn’t tasted victory in the league since April 2022 and that was reflected by the scenes on the final whistle in Parma, as defence coach Richard Hodges recounts.

“It was wild. There were grown men crying,” he said.

“The first person I saw was George Biagi, who is our director of rugby operations. He was just in tears and the girls who work in the office likewise.

“The kit man was hugging everybody, saying thank you with tears streaming down his face.

“It was just such a relief because this group has just been battered for a season and a half.

“There are a lot of players in our squad who have been there 18 months, two years, and had never ever won a game.

“They didn’t know what to do. They got in the changing room and they were trying to find a song to sing!

“So there was a lot of emotion. It was good to see and quite humbling. Finally that cloud is lifted.

“It was just a release of emotion and that monkey is off the back now, so it means we can crack on.

“It’s been coming. It’s about changing perceptions and I think in these early games we have done that. We are beginning to get some respect back and that’s what it’s all about.”

All of Zebre’s points came via the boot, with full-back Geronimo Prisciantelli landing three kicks at goal and wing Jacopa Trulla also on target.

Outlining the key factors behind the victory, Hodges said: “We only gave three penalties away in the whole game. We were extremely well disciplined and finally we were a good version of what I want us to be defensively.

“But the big difference between the two teams was our kick strategy. We won the aerial battle hands down.”

Next up, it’s Cardiff Rugby in Parma on Friday night, a fixture which will have real resonance for Hodges as he spent a decade on the coaching staff at the Arms Park before heading for northern Italy this summer.

“That will be a nice one,” he said.

“I have had a stream of text messages from Rey Lee-Lo taking the mickey and saying they are ready for us!

“I am going out for dinner with Matt Sherratt on Thursday night. It will be good to catch up with him. He is the best coach I have ever worked with and a good mate.”

Hodges concluded: “Last year, Zebre got 11 league points in the whole season.

“So we have set ourselves a target of trying to get those 11 points in the first five games because four of them are at home.

“We have already got nine, so our aim is to get at least two against Cardiff.”

As for Benetton, their game against the Stormers was a real harum-scarum, helter-skelter affair with both teams throwing caution to the wind as the contest became increasingly open.

Ultimately, it was a wonderfully worked try, finished off by replacement flanker Alessandro Izekor, that proved the match-winner, with the hosts holding firm in the frantic final exchanges to emerge as the only side yet to taste defeat this season.

Disappointing weekend for Welsh rugby

It was a weekend to forget for the Welsh regions, with all four teams losing at home - but it could have been such a different story.
Both the Scarlets and Ospreys were leading with less than five minutes to go against the Emirates Lions and Glasgow Warriors respectively, only to concede late scores.

Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel was particularly frustrated at the 24-23 defeat to the Lions given his team was in front for virtually the entire match.

“We are bitterly disappointed because it was a game we had in the bag,” said the former Wales scrum-half.

“For large parts, we were the better side, but we had a few basic fundamental errors and we were not accurate in the last 10 minutes.
“We only have ourselves to blame and it is four points that have gone begging.”

As for the Ospreys, they went in front with just seven minutes left on the clock through a fifth successful kick from fly-half Jack Walsh but ended up without even a losing bonus point as a Duncan Weir penalty and a final play converted try from Allan Dell made it 31-23 to Glasgow.

Head coach Toby Booth said: “Sport can be cruel and sometimes you don’t get what you deserve. It’s a tough pill to swallow.

“Glasgow are a very good side, but they didn’t do anything we didn’t expect. For 75 minutes we more than matched that, so we’re not going to thrash ourselves over this loss.

“We just didn’t nail those key moments when we had the chance early on.”

Cardiff Rugby had plentiful opportunities to beat the Vodacom Bulls at the Arms Park on Friday night only for a succession of crucial handling errors to cost them dear as they went down 18-12.

However, head coach Matt Sherratt took a lot out of his team’s performance against the new league leaders, saying: “That’s the best we have played this season. I was really proud of the players’ efforts and their intent.

“I have got a blueprint in my mind that is a Cardiff performance and it looked a lot like that.”

In the final game of the weekend, the Dragons RFC went down 33-10 to Leinster at Rodney Parade, with Wales back-row forward Taine Basham red-carded for an elbow to the head of fly-half Ross Byrne.

Results:

Friday 10 November 2023
Zebre Parma 12-10 Hollywoodbets Sharks
Ulster 21-14 Munster
Cardiff Rugby 12-18 Vodacom Bulls
Saturday 11 November 2023
Benetton 20-17 DHL Stormers
Ospreys 23-31 Glasgow Warriors
Scarlets 23-24 Emirates Lions
Edinburgh 25-22 Connacht
Sunday 12 November 2023
Dragons 10-33 Leinster