Zebre Parma leave Cardiff Arms Park with a 40-27 defeat against Cardiff Rugby in Round 2 of the United Rugby Championship. After taking a 3-0 lead through a Tommaso Allan penalty, the gialloblù conceded a response from the hosts, who went into half-time with a 26-8 lead. Cardiff extended their advantage further in the second half, moving 40-8 ahead, before Zebre Parma mounted a spirited comeback. Tries from Giacomo Ferrari, Giulio Bertaccini and Giacomo Da Re reduced the deficit to the final score of 40-27. The Welsh side scored six tries, while Massimo Brunello’s team crossed the line four times. Cardiff Rugby claimed five league points, while Zebre Parma secured their first point of the season through the try bonus.
FIRST HALF
Zebre Parma missed an early penalty opportunity in the 3rd minute before Tommaso Allan converted a kick at goal in the 6th minute to give the gialloblù a 3-0 lead. Cardiff responded in the 9th minute with a try from Teddy Williams, although Callum Sheedy missed the conversion. In the 10th minute, Rhys Barratt replaced Scott Sio. Javan Sebastian scored the hosts’ second try in the 18th minute, with Sheedy adding the conversion in the 19th minute to put Cardiff 12-3 ahead.
Zebre responded in the 21st minute with a try from Francisco Minervino, but Allan missed the conversion. Taine Basham extended Cardiff’s lead in the 27th minute with a try converted by Sheedy. In the 35th minute, Juan Barbotti replaced Juan Ignacio Castellano. Alex Mann scored the Welsh side’s fourth try in the 36th minute, with Sheedy adding the conversion in the 37th minute.
Half-time: Cardiff Rugby 26-8 Zebre Parma.
SECOND HALF
Cardiff extended their lead in the 43rd minute with a try from Tom Bowen, converted by Sheedy in the 44th minute. In the 45th minute, Marco Zanon replaced Giulio Bertaccini. In the 52nd minute, Sergio Pelliccioli came on for Federico Pisani, while Giacomo Ferrari replaced Francesco Ruffolo. In the 53rd minute, Jarrod Evans replaced Callum Sheedy, Sam Wainwright came on for Javan Sebastian, and Evan Lloyd replaced Taine Basham. Tom Bowen scored his second try of the match in the 54th minute, with Evans adding the conversion.
In the 55th minute, Patricio Baronio replaced Thomas Dominguez and Giulio Bertaccini came on for Mirko Belloni. Tom Howe replaced Dafydd Hughes, while Ellis Bevan came on for Johan Mulder. In the 58th minute, Alessandro Ortombina replaced Leonard Krumov and Giacomo Da Re came on for Tommaso Allan. In the 59th minute, Giacomo Ferrari scored Zebre Parma’s second try of the second half, with Da Re adding the conversion.
Giulio Bertaccini scored the gialloblù’s fourth try in the 64th minute, but Da Re missed the conversion in the 65th minute. Also in the 65th minute, Steff Emanuel replaced Ben Thomas, while Rory Thornton came on for Josh McNally in the 66th minute. Giovanni Quattrini replaced Francisco Minervino in the 67th minute. In the 69th minute, Giacomo Da Re scored Zebre Parma’s fifth try of the match and added the conversion in the 70th minute.
Full-time: Cardiff Rugby 40-27 Zebre Parma. Cardiff Rugby claimed five league points, while Zebre Parma secured one.
MATCH REPORT
Result: Cardiff Rugby 40-27 Zebre Parma Venue: Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Date: 2 October 2026 Kick-off: 20:45 Italian time Referee: Morne Ferreira Assistant referees: Ben Connor, Lucas Yendle TMO: Marius Jonker
Scorers: 6’ Penalty: Allan (0-3) 9’ Try: Teddy Williams (5-3) 18’ Try: Javan Sebastian, conversion Sheedy (12-3) 21’ Try: Minervino (12-8) 27’ Try: Taine Basham, conversion Sheedy (19-8) 36’ Try: Alex Mann, conversion Sheedy (26-8) 43’ Try: Tom Bowen, conversion Sheedy (33-8) 54’ Try: Tom Bowen, conversion Evans (40-8) 59’ Try: Ferrari, conversion Da Re (40-15) 64’ Try: Bertaccini (40-20) 69’ Try: Da Re, conversion Da Re (40-27)
Kicking: Allan (Zebre Parma) 1/3 Sheedy (Cardiff Rugby) 4/5 Evans (Cardiff Rugby) 1/1 Da Re (Zebre Parma) 2/3
Yellow cards:
Attendance: 7,231 Player of the Match: James Botham
TEAMS
Cardiff Rugby 15 Jacob Beetham 14 Harri Millard 13 Le Roux Malan 12 Ben Thomas (65’ Steff Emanuel) 11 Tom Bowen 10 Callum Sheedy (53’ Jarrod Evans) 9 Johan Mulder (55’ Ellis Bevan) 8 Taine Basham (53’ Evan Lloyd) 7 James Botham 6 Alex Mann 5 Teddy Williams 4 Josh McNally (66’ Rory Thornton) 3 Javan Sebastian (53’ Sam Wainwright) 2 Dafydd Hughes (55’ Tom Howe) 1 Scott Sio (10’ Rhys Barratt)
Replacements: 16 Tom Howe 17 Rhys Barratt 18 Sam Wainwright 19 Rory Thornton 20 Evan Lloyd 21 Ellis Bevan 22 Jarrod Evans 23 Steff Emanuel
Head Coach: Corniel van Zyl
Zebre Parma 15 Giovanni Montemauri 14 Mirko Belloni (55’ Giulio Bertaccini) 13 Simone Gesi 12 Giulio Bertaccini (45’ Marco Zanon) 11 Damiano Mazza 10 Tommaso Allan (58’ Giacomo Da Re) 9 Thomas Dominguez (55’ Patricio Baronio) 8 Davide Ruggeri 7 Samuele Locatelli 6 Francesco Ruffolo (52’ Giacomo Ferrari) 5 Leonard Krumov (58’ Alessandro Ortombina) 4 Matteo Canali 3 Juan Ignacio Castellano (35’ Juan Barbotti) 2 Francisco Minervino (67’ Giovanni Quattrini) 1 Federico Pisani (52’ Sergio Pelliccioli)
Replacements: 16 Giovanni Quattrini 17 Sergio Pelliccioli 18 Juan Barbotti 19 Alessandro Ortombina 20 Giacomo Ferrari 21 Patricio Baronio 22 Marco Zanon 23 Giacomo Da Re
Head Coach: Massimo Brunello
NOTES
James Botham was named Player of the Match.