Benetton hit 50 as they ran in nine tries to topple the Dragons on home soil and go second, at least temporarily, in the Conference B standings. Antonio Rizzi notched 15 points – 10 with the boot – and Luca Sperandio crossed twice in a game that was dominated by the pace, power and trickery of the Benetton backs. The Dragons struggled to keep their opponents in check, and a Jared Rosser score proved the only impression that they could make on the score-board. The hosts raced into an early lead, and had the vision of Dewaldt Duvenage to thank for their opening score. The South African skipped two Benetton men with an incisive pass to give Rizzi an easy score after the hosts had set up shop on the Dragons line. They made it two in spectacular fashion when Alberto Sgarbi found Iliesa Ratuva Tavuyara out wide, whose deft grubber to himself meant a desperate chase for the line. And it was the Fijian flyer who got there first, diving to grab the ball at full length and slam it down in the corner, the score confirmed by referee Quinton Immelman after a look at the TMO. Tavuyara turned provider for Benetton’s third as he improvised an offload to Sperandio just metres out for the youngster to crash over despite the attentions of Will Talbot Davies and Rhodri Williams. He sealed the bonus point for the hosts inside the half hour as Benetton continued to dominate down the right, this time Sgarbi – skipper on the day – timed his pass perfectly to give Sperandio a free run in to score. The hosts had their fifth in a truly relentless first-half display, Rizzi looping a long pass out wide to Monty Ioane, who wriggled his way through with devilish footwork. Though the Dragons responded with their first of the contest through a fine burst from the back of the scrum by Williams before Rosser made sure, it was 40 minutes of rugby defined by the clinical nature of the Italians. And they started the second half in much the same fashion, grabbing a sixth score of the afternoon, this time through a hardy pick-and-go as Tomas Baravalle got the forwards in on the act. The indefatigable hosts were soon in seventh heaven, Niccolo Cannone putting the finishing touches to a lightning-fast move, before he scored again on the hour from an emphatic drive after a quick line-out to bring up the half-century. And Robert Barbieri forced his way over for the hosts’ ninth at the death as they capped things off in perfect fashion.
