Glasgow Warriors 26-12 Benetton: Clinical hosts end Italians' unbeaten run with bonus point
Written by I Dig SportsGlasgow Warriors ended Benetton's four-game unbeaten run in the United Rugby Championship with an efficient bonus-point victory at Scotstoun.
Tries from Josh McKay and Kyle Rowe gave the hosts a narrow half-time lead as Tomas Albornoz's boot kept the Italians in touch.
Benetton were then unable to take advantage of yellow cards shown to McKay and Tom Gordon.
Tries from Sebastian Cancelliere and George Horne settled the game.
The win lifts Glasgow up to second place in the table, equal on points with Leinster, who thumped Scarlets 54-5.
Two Albornoz penalties had given Benetton, who were the league's last remaining unbeaten side, an ideal start.
However, Glasgow bounced back when Tom Jordan set up McKay for the opening try, with Horne converting.
A wonderful mazy run by Cancelliere set up Kyle Rowe to touch down under the posts to give Horne an easy second conversion.
Another Albornoz penalty kept Benetton within touching distance and the visitors were further boosted when McKay was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle on Sebastian Negri.
The Italian side were unable to make their man advantage pay heading into half-time, but Glasgow were down to 14 again after the break when Tom Gordon was shown a yellow card for stopping a try-scoring opportunity.
Glasgow, though, were next to score, Cancelliere surprising the visitors with quick line-out ball before exchanging passes with Horne and racing across the line.
Benetton started turning the screw after Jacob Umaga's penalty brought the Italians back to within seven points.
However, after a fine line break by Glasgow captain Stafford McDowall, Horne all but settled the game by touching down in the corner.
Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith: "We are really pleased with the victory. Scoring four tries in these conditions was also very important.
"I think Benetton played really well and we made a lot of errors. The players didn't want to disappoint, but credit to Benetton there is a reason why they were not beaten before tonight."
Line-ups
Glasgow Warriors: McKay, Cancelliere, Tuipulotu, McDowall, Rowe, Jordan, G. Horne, Bhatti, Turner, Sordoni, Manjezi, Gray, M. Fagerson, T. Gordon, Vailanu.
Replacements: Kennedy for Cancelliere (63), Thompson for Jordan (77), Dell for Bhatti (52), Matthews for Turner (52), Pieretto for Sordoni (60), Peterson for Manjezi (52), Williamson for Gray (60), Miller for T. Gordon (60). Sin Bin: McKay (25), T. Gordon (49).
Benetton Treviso: Da Re, Watson, Brex, Zanon, Odogwu, Albornoz, Garbisi, Nemer, Lucchesi, Ferrari, N. Cannone, Ruzza, Negri, Lamaro, Halafihi.
Replacements: Umaga for Albornoz (42), Duvenage for Garbisi (44), Spagnolo for Nemer (42), Bernasconi for Lucchesi (63), Pasquali for Ferrari (44), Pettinelli for Negri (26), Time-Stowers for Halafihi (52). Not Used: Koegelenberg.
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU).