A contest decided in the final moments. Heartbreak for Zebre Parma, who fell 31-30 at Hive Stadium after a late Edinburgh Rugby try turned the game around in the final minute of Round 15 of the United Rugby Championship.
It was a special night for the visitors and for captain Giovanni Licata, who reached the milestone of 100 appearances for Zebre Parma, officially joining the club’s exclusive “Centurions”.
FIRST HALF
The scoring was opened in the 5th minute by the hosts, with Boyle crossing and Thompson converting (7-0). Zebre responded in the 10th minute through Fusco, with Montemauri adding the extras to level the score at 7-7. The Italians then took the lead in the 14th minute as Gesi finished out wide, although Montemauri missed the conversion (7-12). Edinburgh regained the advantage in the 19th minute with a try from Patterson, converted by Thompson (14-12). The hosts extended their lead in the 36th minute through Ashman, but Thompson was unsuccessful with the conversion (19-12). Just before the break, Zebre reduced the deficit with a Montemauri penalty following a scrum infringement.
Half-time: Edinburgh Rugby 19 – Zebre Parma 15
SECOND HALF
Zebre started strongly and crossed through Trulla in the 47th minute, but Montemauri was unable to convert from a difficult angle (19-20). Edinburgh responded in the 61st minute with a driving maul finished by Ashman, while Scott missed the conversion (24-20). Zebre closed the gap in the 67th minute with a Montemauri penalty after a head-on-head contact infringement on Ferrari (24-23). In the 74th minute, Zebre scored their fourth try through Nocera to secure the bonus point, with Montemauri converting for a 24-30 lead. In the closing stages, Edinburgh found the decisive try through Venter in the 79th minute, with Scott converting at the death to seal a 31-30 victory.
Full time: Edinburgh Rugby 31 – Zebre Parma 30
++ MATCH REPORT ++
EDINBURGH RUGBY vs ZEBRE PARMA 31 – 30
Hive Stadium, kick-off 19:45
Scorers:
5’ try Boyle, con. Thompson (7-0)
10’ try Fusco, con. Montemauri (7-7)
14’ try Gesi (7-12)
19’ try Patterson, con. Thompson (14-12)
36’ try Ashman (19-12)
40+1’ pen. Montemauri (19-15)
47’ try Trulla (19-20)
61’ try Ashman (24-20)
67’ pen. Montemauri (24-23)
74’ try Nocera, con. Montemauri (24-30)
79’ try Venter, con. Scott (31-30)
Kickers:
Montemauri (Zebre Parma) 3/5
Thompson (Edinburgh) 2/3
Scott (Edinburgh) 1/2
EDINBURGH RUGBY
15 O’Connor
14 Graham
13 Tuipulotu
12 Thomson (52’ Scott)
11 Navlivou (67’ Brown)
10 Thompson
9 Patterson (67’ Vellacott)
8 Boyle
7 Douglas (56’ Richardson)
6 McConnell (66’ Currie)
5 Gilchrist (C)
4 Sykes (74’ Young)
3 Blyth-Lafferty (48’ Hill)
2 Ashman
1 Schoeman (56’ Venter)
Replacements:
16 Richardson
17 Venter
18 Hill
19 Young
20 Currie
21 Vellacott
22 Scott
23 Brown
Head Coach: Sean Everitt
ZEBRE PARMA
15 Trulla
14 Faissal
13 Morisi (65’ Dominguez)
12 Mazza
11 Gesi
10 Montemauri
9 Fusco
8 Licata (C)
7 Locatelli
6 Ferrari (68’ Bianchi)
5 Ortombina (60’ Krumov)
4 Canali
3 Neculai (57’ Nocera)
2 Quattrini (62’ Klein)
1 Buonfiglio (53’ Hasa)
Replacements:
16 Klein
17 Hasa
18 Nocera
19 Krumov
20 Bianchi
21 Dominguez
22 Farias
23 Lucchin
Head Coach: Massimo Brunello
Referee: Christopher Allison
Assistant Referees: Ruairidh Campbell, David Young
TMO: Morne Ferreira
Player of the Match: Ashman (Edinburgh Rugby)
Attendance: 6818 (record crowd vs Italian opposition)
Notes:
* Giovanni Licata reached 100 appearances for Zebre Parma, joining the club’s Centurions