{"id":474494,"date":"2025-10-04T22:14:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T22:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/474494\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T22:14:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T22:14:09","slug":"glasgow-warriors-suffer-agonising-away-defeat-to-benetton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/474494\/","title":{"rendered":"Glasgow Warriors suffer agonising away defeat to Benetton"},"content":{"rendered":"

A clearly frustrated coach Franco Smith<\/strong> added: \u201cWe are disappointed with the result, that goes without saying. I thought we should have scored more points in the first half. Benetton were good defensively and it\u2019s always difficult to come and play here.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe maybe didn\u2019t get the rub of the green in the second half and we ended up having a high penalty count in the second half. That\u2019s something we\u2019ll have to look at because that trapped us in our half of the pitch and took away our attacking platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the sequence of events, including Stafford McDowall<\/strong>\u2019s forward pass in the final minutes, that led to Benetton\u2019s field position for the winning drop-goal, he said: \u201cThe message was to get down the field as quickly as possible. We back the way the players tried to go about that. The way we clear is to get it to width and kick from the edge when their backfield is isolated. We\u2019ve executed that for four years now. We\u2019ve closed out a lot of these games. We got one wrong today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The returning Sione Tuipulotu<\/strong> concerningly seemed to limp off late in the second half but Smith was quick to allay concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo injury for Sione, it was just cramp,\u201d he explained. \u201cObviously, he hasn\u2019t played for a while. The grass pitch here is a bit different to the one he\u2019s been preparing on at home. It was just precautionary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glasgow Warriors started strongly as Benetton fumbled both the opening kick-off and an early line-out deep in their own 22. The visitors immediately went on the attack and earned a penalty inside two minutes, but Glasgow turned down the points in favour of a kick to the corner\u2014only for them to then misfire at their own line-out.<\/p>\n

Matt Fagerson<\/strong> then sparked a counter-attack with a break near halfway, but his inside pass was intercepted by Alessandro Garbisi<\/strong>, allowing Benetton to clear. Despite dominating early territory, Glasgow couldn\u2019t convert pressure into points, while a penalty for not releasing gave Benetton field position. Fly-half Jacob Umaga<\/strong> missed the kick, leaving the scores level.<\/p>\n

Adam Hastings<\/strong> sparked Glasgow to life by taking the 22 drop-out quickly before racing upfield and feeding Johnny Matthews<\/strong>, who charged into Benetton\u2019s half. Hastings\u2019 cross-field kick almost found Kyle Rowe<\/strong> for the opening try, but it just evaded the winger\u2019s grasp.<\/p>\n

Glasgow\u2019s kick-chase continued to trouble the hosts, with captain Steyn commanding in the air, young flanker Mackenzie Duncan<\/strong> popping up everywhere, and even giant 6ft 8ins lock Oguntibeju getting in on the fun to force Louis Lynagh<\/strong> into a sliced clearance.<\/p>\n

Their dominance finally told after 19 minutes. Another penalty was kicked to the corner and the impressive Oguntibeju powered over from close range for the opening try, converted by Hastings for a 7-0 lead.<\/p>\n

Benetton enjoyed their only respite when a pressured first half as a soft penalty at the line-out by Warriors gave Umaga an easy kick that he duly slotted for three points to get the home side on the board.<\/p>\n

The hosts\u2019 attack continued to struggle, though, under pressure from Glasgow\u2019s line-speed, forcing them to frequently kick poorly under pressure. One such kick from Umaga went out on the full, and from the ensuing line-out, McDowall crashed up the middle before McKay burst through the defence to show his pace as he ran in untouched from near halfway. Hastings converted to extend the lead to 14\u20133.<\/p>\n

Glasgow kept pressing, attacking from deep off the restart with a series of powerful carries that forced repeated infringements. They couldn\u2019t convert, though, as Hastings missed a straightforward penalty following a late Benetton tackle, and another promising attack ended with a turnover for not releasing when just a few feet from the try line.<\/p>\n

At half-time, Glasgow led 14-3. A commanding lead away from home. Yet it could have been far greater had they capitalised on their chances, with Benetton hanging on without really firing a shot for 40 minutes.<\/p>\n

The tide turns<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whatever Benetton\u2019s Scottish coach Callum MacRae<\/strong> said\u2014or perhaps shouted\u2014at halftime clearly had an effect. The home side emerged transformed, immediately capitalising on an early Rowe fumble to earn a scrum inside Glasgow\u2019s 22. Their renewed intensity drew successive penalties from the Warriors\u2019 defence, but referee Chris Connors<\/strong> then penalised Benetton at the scrum under Glasgow\u2019s posts to reprieve the visitors.<\/p>\n

That respite was brief. Benetton soon forced a scrum penalty of their own and went back on the attack. Malakai Fekitoa<\/strong> thundered over the gain-line before Siua Maile<\/strong> sliced through the Glasgow defence, feeding Italy star Menoncello to score their first try. Umaga converted to cut the deficit to 14-10.<\/p>\n

With Benetton having momentum for the first time, Smith turned to his bench, sending on five replacements, including British & Irish Lion Scott Cummings<\/strong>. The impact was mixed\u2014replacement prop Sam Talakai<\/strong> was soon penalised for an illegal clear-out on Michele Lamaro<\/strong>, allowing Benetton to regain field position.<\/p>\n

The hosts\u2019 intensity and precision were unrecognisable from the first half. Their carries had bite, their handling was precise and their kicking game turned the tide against Glasgow\u2019s previously dominant back three.<\/p>\n

With 15 minutes to play, Benetton\u2019s maul looked certain to score, but a heroic effort from Duncan, Cummings and George Horne<\/strong> somewhat miraculously held the ball up.<\/p>\n

Niccol\u00f2 Cannone<\/strong> was shown a yellow-card for a no-arms tackle, yet even down to 14 men, Benetton kept coming. Replacement scrum-half Louis Werchon<\/strong>\u2019s quick tap caught Glasgow off guard, leading to a penalty that Umaga slotted to bring the score to 13-14 with eight minutes remaining.<\/p>\n

The impressive Steyn nearly rallied his flagging side when he hared after his own kick to bundle Umaga into touch and give Glasgow a vital line-out deep in Benetton\u2019s 22. It was a golden chance to seal the game with Benetton still down to 14 men. Glasgow attacked but Benetton skipper and talisman Lamaro wasn\u2019t to be outdone and produced a captain\u2019s moment of his own with a jackal penalty as Warriors drove for the line.<\/p>\n

As the clock ticked down, Benetton mounted one last attack from a scrum inside Glasgow\u2019s half. They carried up to Warriors\u2019 22 before attacking close to the ruck for centre-field possession, successfully drawing a penalty in the process. Playing advantage, Smith coolly slotted a 40-metre drop goal to seal a dramatic 16-14 comeback victory for the Treviso side, much to their fans\u2019 delight and Glasgow\u2019s dismay.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Teams \u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

Benetton:<\/strong> M Gallagher; L Lynagh, T Menoncello, M Fekitoa, P Odogwu; J Umaga, A Garbisi; M Spagnolo, S Maile, S Ferrari, R Favretto, E Snyman, A Izekor, M Lamaro\u00a9, S Fa\u2019aso\u2019o. Subs used:<\/strong> R Smith, Garbisi, Avaca, L Werchon, N Tetaz, N Gasperini, N Zilocchi, N Cannone, L Cannone, Fa\u2019aso\u2019o.<\/p>\n

Glasgow Warriors:<\/strong> J McKay; K Steyn\u00a9, S McDowall, S Tuipulotu, K Rowe; A Hastings, J Dobie; R Sutherland, J Matthews, F Richardson, J Oguntibeju, A Samuel, G Brown, M Duncan, M Fagerson. Subs used:<\/strong> D Lancaster, G Horne, P Shickerling, G Hiddleston, S Talakai, M Williamson, S Cummings, E Ferrie.<\/p>\n

Referee:<\/strong> Chris Connors<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Scorers \u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

Benetton:<\/strong> Tries: T Menoncello; Cons: J Umaga; Pens: J Umaga 2; DG: R Smith.<\/p>\n

Glasgow Warriors:<\/strong> Tries: J Oruntibeju, J McKay; Cons: A Hastings 2.<\/p>\n

Scoring sequence (Glasgow Warriors first):<\/strong> 0-5; 0-7; 3-7; 3-12; 3-14 (h-t) 8-14; 10-14; 13-14; 16-14.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yellow cards \u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

Benetton:<\/strong> Cannone (66 mins)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Attendance:<\/strong> 4,809<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A clearly frustrated coach Franco Smith added: \u201cWe are disappointed with the result, that goes without saying. I…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474495,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7826],"tags":[748,85185,918,8979,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-474494","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-glasgow","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-divi","10":"tag-glasgow","11":"tag-glasgow-warriors","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-scotland","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}