The Hollywoodbets Sharks went down to Benetton in Treviso in their round four Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash on Saturday to close out their three match mini-tour to Europe.
It was a day of frustrations for the Durban side who started the game with intent, some lovely interplay to keep the home side busy on defence, but a scrum penalty delivered Benetton field position that got them into a scoring opportunity and they slotted a penalty in the 10th minute to get the scoreboard ticking over.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks levelled matters just shy of the end of the first quarter after a strong attack that yielded the penalty that saw them draw equal through the boot of Siya Masuku.
Benetton pulled ahead to take the lead five minutes later with a try in the corner and would never relinquish the hold they had on the scoreboard. The touchline conversion took them into a 10-3 lead which they extended with a second converted try on the half hour mark with a strong run to close out the score.
With two minutes of the half remaining, Benetton took a quick throw from a 50-22 in the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ half and went over for their third try, adding insult to injury after the visitors had been in Benetton’s 22, threatening an important score. The conversion took them into a 24-3 lead, one they held until the teams went into the half-time break.
The opening 10 minutes of the second half belonged to a resurgent Hollywoodbets Sharks’ side, bolstered by replacements of the bench after half-time but Benetton managed to hold out under the threat of conceding more points.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks made their intentions clear in their quest to get their first try, but where the energy shone, they would have been disappointed with the execution close to the tryline, conceding the bonus point try soon after making a threatening attack.
A fifth try with five minutes of the game remaining took Benetton into a strong lead, the result out of question, before the Hollywoodbets Sharks attacked off a yellow card for the home side, Ntuthuko Mchunu smashing his way over and Lionel Cronje converting to close out the game, with Benetton taking the spoils 38-10.
