Treviso defeat Zebre for second time in consecutive weeks, despite three yellow cards
Last Updated: 03/01/15 8:24pm
Treviso beat Zebre for the second time in as many weeks as they edged the return PRO12 Italian derby 17-15 on Saturday.
Tries from Michele Campagnaro and Edoardo Gori gave Treviso only their second win of the season in all competitions, finally giving their fans something to cheer about at home.
The hosts even had to contend with being down to 12 men at one stage of the game, after losing three players to the bin in quick succession in the second half, but their defence was strong enough to see off the challenge from their visitors.
Edward Padovani got the scoring underway for Zebre, but Jayden Hayward levelled shortly thereafter for Treviso before Campagnaro crashed over in the 23rd minute to give his side a 10-3 lead with Hayward adding the extras.
Despite chances for both teams, neither were able to convert, meaning no change in the score by the time the half-time whistle blew from referee Gary Conway.
Matteo Muccignat was the first Treviso player to see yellow early in the second half, just four minutes after coming on as a substitute. He was joined in the bin by fellow prop D'Arcy Rae five minutes later before centre Enrico Bacchin made it three players on the side-line for the home team, if only for a minute.
However it took Zebre until the 69th minute before they were able to make use of the numerical advantage. Second rower Quintin Geldenhuys scored but the conversion was missed, making it 10-8 to the hosts with ten minutes remaining.
Treviso hit back immediately through replacement Edoardo Gori, giving his team a 17-8 advantage with the game closing out.
Zebre then lost a man of their own when winger Giulio Toniolatti was shown yellow, but were able to cross the whitewash with no time left in the game to earn themselves a losing bonus point as Treviso held out for a 17-15 win.
