| Benetton (31) 69 |
| Tries: L Cannone, Albornoz 2 Lamaro 2, Braley 2, Smith 2, Pettinelli 2, Ruzza Cons:Smith 8 Pen: Smith |
| Cardiff (7) 21 |
| Tries: Carre 2, Llewellyn Cons:Priestland 3. |
Benetton ended their season in stunning fashion, running in 10 tries against a poor Cardiff.
Dai Young's team headed to Treviso hoping to win a third consecutive title, but they were not on pace from the start.
Rhyno, fullback, ran in two of Zebre's attempts last weekend and matched his 29-point total.
Braces were awarded to Callum Braley and Tomas Albornoz, half-backs. Rhys Carre also crossed twice for Cardiff.
Benetton wins Cardiff and finishes in 13th place. Only Dragons, Zebre and Dai Young finish below them.
From the start, the hosts were dominant and showed a greater desire for the ball. Cardiff, however, was unable to cope with Benetton’s pace and offload game.
After losing a few chances early, Benetton scored their first score after 10 minutes. They opened the floodgates with three tries within five minutes.
The first result was from a typical driving route, with number eight Lorenzo Cannone emerging from the pack and crossing.
The lead was extended when Argentinian Ignacio Brex joined with Albornoz. After a wonderful offload from Irne, Michele Lamoro took over the skipper's duties.
Benetton could have scored the bonus point within the first half when Mattia Belllini collected a cross-field kick from his wing. However, his toe was caught on the touchline.
The fourth was not far away. After Thomas Gallo, a prop, overcame a weak tackle of Carre to make a clean pass before Braley's great interplay saw him go under the sticks.
Carre apologized just before the break. Cardiff executed a training ground move, with the ball falling off the top to Lloyd Williams. Lloyd Williams popped it to his prop and he crashed over.
Carre scored again in the second period. He used his size and power as a way to score from close-range. However, any Cardiff comeback was stopped by Benetton who worked the ball to EdoardoPadovani on the wing, who fed inside to Albornoz to get his second.
Braley celebrated his second celebration shortly thereafter, with Benetton showing once again that he is willing to keep the ball alive.
Cardiff kept the scoreline ticking over until Ben Thomas created a gap for Max Llewellyn to place centre Max Llewellyn above the whitewash.
Cardiff became tired and Benetton proved that they could still run. They scored four tries within the final 10 minutes.
Two points machine Smith scored, one from a floated ball wide, and one from Gionvanni Pettinelli's good work.
Pettinelli made a mistake as Cardiff tried to keep up with the speed of the ball. Federico Ruzza's attempt summed up their efforts.
To add insult to Cardiff's injury, the lock was allowed to stand up from the restart and stretch his legs.
S4C was informed by Dai Young, Cardiff director of rugby.“I think we have to just take it on the chin tonight. We didn't do enough the first half.
“I thought we were really bad in the first half… it was too much for us.
“Mentally, and physically, we looked like we had nothing in the tank and second best.
“We were slow to recover, lost the collisions and made it far too easy.
“It's been difficult season for me. People often ask me if there are positives. It is not. It is, however, our last chance to win.
“We can work hard in pre-season, but we must come better than that. That wasn't enough to get the jersey tonight.”
Benetton: Rhyno Smith; Edoardo Padovani, Ignacio Brex, Filippo Drago, Mattia Bellini; Tomas Albornoz, Callum Braley; Thomas Gallo, Giacomo Nicotera, Simone Ferrari, Irne Herbst, Federico Ruzza, Gionvanni Pettinelli, Michele Lamoro (capt), Lorenzo Cannone.
Replacements: Gianmarco Lucchesi, Ivan Nemer, Nahuel Tetaz, Niccolo Cannone, Toa Halafihi, Dewaldt Duvenage, Joaquin Riera, Leonardo Marin.
Cardiff: Cameron Winnett; Owen Lane; Mason Grady; Max Llewellyn. Theo Cabango. Rhys Priestland. Lloyd Williams. Rhys Carre. Kristian Dacey. Dmitri. Arhip. Matthew Screech. Shane Lewis Hughes. Ellis Jenkins. James Ratti.
Replacements: Efan Daniel. Corey Domachowski. Dillon Lewis. Teddy Williams. Josh Turnbull. Ellis Bevan. Ben Thomas. Jason Harries.
Referee:Eoghan Cross (IRFU).
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (IRFU) & Alberto Favaro (FIR)
TMO: Olly Hodges
