Reigning champions Leinster will host Benetton Rugby in Dublin on Saturday in a clash that could have huge implications on the Guinness PRO14 Final Series race. The Irish province are already home and dry after sealing top spot in Conference B with three games still to play to secure a home semi-final in the quest to retain their title. But the picture is not so clear below them as four sides – Ulster, Benetton, Edinburgh and Scarlets – battle it out for the remaining two places in the end-of-season showdown. Benetton are currently occupying one of those two spots, but with only a three-point advantage over Edinburgh the Italian outfit would love nothing more than a result at the RDS Arena. To get you in the mood for the pivotal Round 19 encounter, we’ve taken a look back at three classic matches between the two sides from previous years. LEINSTER 15-17 BENETTON, RDS ARENA, 14 APRIL 2018 You don’t need to go back too far to find the last thriller between Benetton and Leinster, with the Italians claiming a shock victory in Dublin in last season’s Guinness PRO14 campaign. It was only Benetton’s second-ever win over Leinster and saw them come from 12-5 behind at the interval after Richardt Strauss and Barry Daly had put the hosts in front. Following Luca Bigi’s first-half effort, further tries after the restart from Federico Ruzza and Tommaso Allan ensured Benetton completed a memorable comeback. A Joey Carbery penalty had brought Leinster back to within two points after they lost the lead but despite losing Tito Tebaldi to the sin-bin, Benetton’s defence held firm under pressure. The victory not only boosted Benetton’s hopes of qualifying for the Final Series, it was also their first win over their Irish opponents since the 2010⁄11 season – ending a 14-match winless streak. BENETTON 24-24 LEINSTER, STADIO MONIGO, 23 NOVEMBER 2014 A late Jimmy Gopperth missed drop-goal proved costly for Leinster as their struggles at the start of 2014⁄15 campaign continued after being held to a draw by bottom club Benetton. Darragh Fanning’s try opened the scoring for the Irish visitors, but they soon found themselves behind as Benetton hit back through Andrea Pratichetti and Dean Budd scores. Dave Kearney’s reply on the cusp of half-time closed the gap to just 12-10, before Leinster regained the lead through Bryan Byrne and a second for Fanning. But the pendulum swung back in Benetton’s favour after Marco Barbini and David Giazzon were on target as the two sides continued to swap the lead in the second half. Giazzon’s try drew the scores level but after Jayden Hayward missed the conversion, Gopperth was unable to snatch glory in injury time with his drop-goal attempt. BENETTON 20-21 LEINSTER, STADIO MONIGO, 24 NOVEMBER 2013 Gopperth was on target a year earlier as this time his late penalty proved enough to hand Leinster a narrow victory over Benetton following another hard-fought contest. The Italians got off to a poor start and quickly found themselves behind after Lote Tuqiri and Noel Reid both struck for the visitors in the opening 15 minutes. Benetton began to mount their response midway through the first half with a penalty from Matt Berquist before the fly-half also converted a Ludovico Nitoglia score. But having reduced Leinster’s lead to two points, the visitors extended their advantage after the break with a couple of Gopperth penalties before Berquist booted another three points. Angelo Esposito then crossed on the hour, with Berquist converting again, to put Benetton ahead for the first time – only to see Gopperth keep his cool to seal a dramatic win for Leinster.
