United Rugby Championship, round 16
Benetton (5) 29
Tries: Garbisi, Mendy, Gasperini 2 Cons: Umaga 3 Pens: Umaga
Leinster (14) 26
Tries: O’Tighearnaigh, van der Flier, Gibson-Park, Frawley Cons: Byrne 2. Prendergast
Leinster passed up an opportunity to improve on the fourth place they currently occupy in the United Rugby Championship table as they suffered a dramatic last-gasp 29-26 comeback defeat away to Benetton.
The Italian side trailed by 14 points early in the second half but battled back to draw level with eight minutes remaining, before Jacob Umaga’s penalty in the final minute secured a bonus-point victory.
With both sides scoring four tries, Leinster had the consolation of leaving with two bonus points.
Tommy O’Brien won an early foot race to the line to deny Benetton a try but soon after Alessandro Garbisi went over in the corner after accepting an off-load.
Conor O’Tighearnaigh rumbled over from close range, Harry Byrne converting, to edge Leo Cullen’s charges 7-5 ahead.
Leinster continued to put on the pressure and were denied a second score when Ciaran Frawley dotted down under the posts but after a consultation with the Television Match Official [TMO] the try was chalked off for a forward pass by Jack Conan in the build-up.
Josh van der Flier then marked his return to action after injury by burrowing over the whitewash shortly before half-time.
Five minutes after the restart, Jamison Gibson-Park got in on the try-scoring action.
Dan Sheehan broke clear and passed to the scrum-half, who weaved his way through the home defence and ran in behind the posts.
Benetton responded with two converted scores to draw level at 19 apiece.
First, Ignacio Mendy picked up a loose ball and sprinted into the corner, dodging an attempted tackle by Gibson-Park in the process, then Nicholas Gasperini barged over after emerging from the back of a maul.
The see-saw nature of the game continued as Ciaran Frawley scored after collecting a long pass to the wing after Leinster had gone through the phases.
Cian Prendergast added the extras to push Leinster’s advantage to seven but back came the home side again as Gasperini claimed his second converted try to level the scores once again, repeating the play in much the same fashion as his first touchdown.
Umaga’s penalty in the final minute proved decisive for the Italian side.
After their Champions Cup semi-final against Toulon next weekend, Leinster host the Lions and the Ospreys in their concluding games of the regular URC season, with Benetton heading on their travels to South Africa to face the Sharks and the Bulls.
Benetton: Gallagher; Mendy, Menoncello, Fekitoa, Odogwu; Umaga, Garbisi; Aminu, Bernasconi, Pasquali; Marini, Favretto; Zuliani, Lamaro, Cannone.
Replacements: Gasperini, Nemer, Gallorini, Cannone, Fa’aso’o, Snyman, Uren, Marin.
Leinster: Frawley; O’Brien, Ioane, Osborne, O’Brien; Byrne, Gibson-Park; Byrne, Sheehan, Furlong; O’Tighearnaigh, Deeny; Conan, Van der Flier, Doris.
Replacements: McCarthy, Cahir, Clarkson, Soroka, Penny, Gunne, Prendergast, Tector