United Benetton down off colour Sharks

Ponderous and predictable the Sharks came up well short as Benetton recorded a famous win over the ambitious South African franchise on Saturday.

The Italians who won 38-10 grew in stature in their United Rugby Championship clash in Treviso, beating down the visitors' challenge with a composed display in which they were not just more assertive, but alert.

When journeyman fullback Rhyno Smith carved his former teammates' defence wide open for Benetton's bonus point try in the 69th minute, the gap in class between the sides on the day was graphically illustrated.

Slick handling between backs and forwards helped set up Smith who straightened the line before stepping right and setting sail for the tryline.

While a few adroit passes saw the undoing of the Sharks on that occasion, the tourists often found themselves banging bluntly on the Benetton door. It only opened briefly and when it did it was in the last act of the game when the home side was reduced to 14 players.

The hosts came into the game seeking their first win of the campaign following two defeats and an agonising home draw against the Scarlets. They were more urgent and precise and they proved more than a match for the Sharks' upfront.

Lock Niccolo Cannone provided the spark in the engine room, with flank Michele Lamaro fanning the flames. At the back-centre Tommaso Menoncello was magnificent with and without the ball. Smith cut an assured figure at the back and his incursions in attack carried meaning and menace. He was named man of the match.

The traction the Sharks were expected to have in the scrums did not materialise. There were scrum penalties but Benetton also had their fair share.

The Sharks were very much in the contest after the first quarter when the teams had traded penalties. Benetton however, more proficient at the ruck and precise in their passing, wore the tourists down.

They moved the Sharks' defence around with scrumhalf Alessandro Garbisi deftly directing traffic. When opportunity beckoned they were ruthless.

The Sharks were wasteful. In fact, they had two attacking line-outs from five metres out to get themselves back into the contest in the 36th minute but it was Benetton who emerged from near their tryline and gradually advance upfield resulting in a try for wing Ignacio Mendy.

That was Benetton's third try after Paolo Odogwu and Smith scored the first two and the Sharks appeared on the rack at the break.

None of their advances yielded the results they were hoping for. To be fair, the home team's defence was eagle eyed and eager. The Sharks' heavy carriers were rarely allowed to lengthen their stride.

At the back they were robbed the services of left-wing Ethan Hooker who left the field injured in the 14th minute.

Jaden Hendrikse provided reliable service at scrumhalf but the Sharks' backline showed little by way of guile or inventiveness. Often, they appeared to operate on different wavelengths.

Imprecision also dogged the visitors with handling errors proving a frustration.

Sharks coach John Plumtree cut a glum figure afterwards as he lamented his team's inability to cash in when the going was good against united hosts. “We had enough territory and possession but we couldn't do anything with the ball.

“Credit to Benetton, they played for each other. Maybe there was a bit of fatigue on our side as well.”

Scorers

Benetton (24) 38 - Tries: Paolo Odogwu, Rhyno Smith (2), Ignacio Mendy, Leonardo Marin. Conversions: Jacob Umaga (5). Penalty: Umaga.

Sharks (3) 10 - Try: Ntuthuku Mchunu. Conversion: Lionel Cronje. Penalty: Siya Masuko.