David Kriel converted a late Akker van der Merwe try as the Vodacom Bulls clawed back from a first-half deficit to overcome Benetton in Treviso on Friday night.
Trailing 9-3 at half time, the Bulls overturned Benetton’s advantage through two second-half tries – the second scored with less than two minutes to go when replacement hooker Van der Merwe crashed over off the back of a rolling maul, and inside centre Kriel nailed what proved to be the match-winning conversion.
The 17-15 victory for the Herd at Stadio Comunale di Monigo, in the last round of this block of Vodacom URC matches before the international break, capped a successful European tour for Jake White’s charges.
White’s men kicked off their overseas trip with a bonus-point win at the Ospreys, but lost to the Scarlets last week, which marked their first defeat of the URC season.
The Bulls controlled possession in the first half against Benetton on Friday but could only manage a single penalty from flyhalf Keagan Johannes, one of four late changes to the visitors’ lineup due to illness in the camp.
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Benetton flyhalf Tomas Albornoz opened the scoring with a penalty in the first minute, followed by another from fullback Rhyno Smith soon after. Albornoz added a third penalty in the 35th minute, rounding off the home side’s solid defensive showing.
The Bulls briefly thought they had scored the first try of the match before the close of the third quarter through blindside flanker Reinhardt Ludwig, but his try was disallowed for a knock-on by Kurt-Lee Arendse in the buildup.
Albornoz split the uprights from the kicking tee to extend the hosts’ lead to nine points, but Ludwig wouldn’t be denied a second time from close range, crossing the whitewash with less than 15 minutes left in the game.
Kriel added the extras before Albornoz struck his fifth penalty of the clash as Benetton went five points clear, before Van der Merwe barged over at the death and Kriel completed the comeback triumph for the men from the Republic.
The Bulls will return to action against Connacht in Galway on 30 November, while Benetton travel to the Scottish capital to face Edinburgh.
