Benetton v Bath: Five takeaways as South African ‘leaves imprint’ on fixture as Johann van Graan’s men now in ‘win or bust’ territory
Rhyno Smith scored two tries for Benetton against Bath.
Following a 22-21 victory for Benetton over Bath in their Investec Champions Cup clash, here’s our five takeaways from a tense fixture at Stadio Monigo on Sunday.
The top line
In a classic game of two halves that saw Benetton lead 17-7 at the break but then trail 21-17 with just six minutes remaining, the Italians snatched victory in a dramatic finish.
They had three massive opportunities to win the match late on and thankfully for their supporters the last one was taken by hooker Bautista Bernasconi to secure victory.
Rhyno Smith (2) and Louis Lynagh had crossed in the first period while Niall Annett went over for Bath before an improved second-half showing from the visitors saw Josh Bayliss and Thomas du Toit score tries that looked to have claimed an unlikely triumph.
However, Benetton somehow dug in and found an extra gear that seemed lacking and despite Nacho Brex failing to ground over the whitewash a couple of minutes earlier, Bernasconi’s powerful pushover try sealed a last-ditch win to spark wild celebrations.
Familiar story
It is becoming an all too familiar story in the Champions Cup that teams are choosing – or are unable to due to player welfare – put out full-strength sides for the back-to-back opening rounds of the tournament. That has left supporters and spectators at home feeling somewhat short-changed as their side’s top drawer stars are not in action when they have sometimes flown abroad and paid accommodation for games such as this.
Bath made 11 changes in all to their starting line-up as the likes of Ben Spencer, Finn Russell, Will Stuart, Tom Dunn, Joe Cokanasiga and others were absent for this match, which handed Benetton a significant confidence boost going into the pool game and ultimately played its part in the visitors falling to a second straight European loss.
Rhyno Smith stars
A firm fan favourite at Benetton and it’s easy to see why, Smith is a ball of energy and always fights well above his weight in everything he does for his team-mates and shirt.
Indeed, the South African full-back was in the thick of the action in the first half as his one-two with wing Onisi Ratave saw him cross on eight minutes before his second try was all him. Intercepting a stray pass just outside his 22, Smith set sail for the line and despite Cameron Redpath seemingly looking odds on to bring him to ground, a well-timed goosestep did for the Scotland international in a stunning individual score.
While he was subbed with 15 minutes of the game to play, Smith’s imprint on the fixture in that first half was sizeable as he continues to be a key performer for the Italian side.
What next for Bath?
This result makes it two losses from two for Johann van Graan’s men as despite sitting pretty at the summit of the Premiership, their Champions Cup campaign is on thin ice.
With two points next to their name in the standings they sit in fifth place in Pool Two but at least with four teams progressing from each group and Benetton and Clermont only three points ahead of them it’s by no means panic stations for the English outfit.
However, they simply must beat Clermont at the Recreation Ground on January 12 as after that it’s a trip to Leinster the following week where it will no doubt be win or bust.
Brex breathes a sigh of relief
The replacement centre will be buying Bernasconi a coffee on Monday morning after the hooker’s late finish spared his blushes. This after the Italy international thought he had won the game for Benetton with time ticking down only for the Television Match Official Dave Sutherland to spot that he had lost the ball before hitting the ground.
Fortunately for Brex, Benetton did not let that setback affect them and they finally made the pressure count in a result that could be the springboard to a slow-starting season.