Wretched Cardiff hit new low with Benetton defeat
Cardiff ’s deeply-disappointing season ended in humiliating fashion as they suffered a 10try rout at the hands of Benetton in Treviso.
The Italian home side had the bonus point in the bag inside 32 minutes as they built a 31-7 interval lead and they crossed the whitewash six more times after the break.
There were two tries apiece for fly-half Tomas Albornoz, full-back Rhyno Smith and scrum-half Callum Braley, with Smith landing nine shots at goal to finish with a mammoth 29-point match haul.
Wales prop Rhys Carre claimed a double of his own, forcing his way over either side of half-time for the visitors, with centre Max Llewellyn also touching down.
But this was a night to forget for Dai Young’s team, who delivered a shocking overall display in their final game of a troubled campaign.
It means they finish 14th in the United Rugby Championship table, with Benetton jumping above them. Cardiff ended up winning just seven of their 18 league games in the new competition.
After a pretty even opening at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo, things then started to go badly wrong for the visitors from Wales as they conceded three tries in the space of just seven minutes.
First, No.8 Lorenzo Cannone broke away from a lineout maul drive to open the scoring, with Argentine fly-half Albornoz slicing his way through for the second and Italy captain Michele Lamaro bursting over to complete the rapid triple strike.
Full-back Smith converted all three touchdowns and added a penalty to extend the home side’s lead ahead of them securing the bonus point after just 32 minutes.
It was scrum-half Braley who went under the posts after a superb break from prop Thomas Gallo, with flanker Lamaro providing classic openside support to deliver the scoring pass.
Cardiff did manage to open their account just before the break as loosehead Carre crashed through off a training ground lineout move, taking a pass from Lloyd Williams and showing good strength to reach the whitewash.
But, overall it was a hugely onesided first half, with Benetton heading to the changing rooms in possession of a 24-point interval lead. Wales tour squad member Carre provided some hope when he again barged his way over from close range early in the second half, but the home side swiftly reasserted their control.
A really well-worked move saw Albornoz run in for his second, with fellow half-back Braley then following suit after some classy offloading unlocked the Cardiff defence.
Llewellyn used his size to bust through to the line after good hands from replacement Ben Thomas on the hour mark, as Cardiff briefly stemmed the tide.
But it became a procession in the final quarter as Benetton went over four more times, with second row Federico Ruzza romping home after pulling off an interception in his own half, while Smith claimed his brace and flanker Giovanni Pettinelli joined in the fun.
Not that fun was the word for Cardiff or their supporters. This was simply a wretched end to a pretty dire season.