De Beer Misses 80th-Minute Winner as Dragons Draw at Benetton — SkimNews
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- Tinus de Beer struck the left post with a tricky 80th-minute conversion from the right touchline that would have handed Dragons the lead after Elliot Dee burrowed over from a driving line-out
- Benetton led 19-7 at the interval through tries from debutant centre Francois Mey, hooker Bautista Bernasconi and Argentina wing Ignacio Mendy, with Jacob Umaga landing two conversions
- Dragons hit back after the restart with a slick offload move that sent Fine Inisi into the corner, then punished a 74th-minute Umaga penalty miss by driving Dee over for the levelling try
- A Che Hope score was ruled out with 15 minutes to play after TMO Marius Jonker spotted a knock-on by Huw Anderson in the build-up
- Wayne Pivac took charge of Benetton for the first time following his three-year Wales head-coach spell, having previously lifted the 2017 title with Scarlets
- Rio Dyer opted to kick the ball into touch on the final play rather than run or kick for territory, leaving Filo Tiatia's side with a draw instead of a shot at victory
- Dragons now face five consecutive fixtures in Wales, starting with back-to-back URC derbies against Scarlets and Ospreys in Newport
Why it matters: The result extends a frustrating pattern for Dragons, who shared the spoils four times in 2025-26 and finished 15th. De Beer's post, Hope's disallowed try and Dyer's conservative final play mean Tiatia's side leave Treviso with two points instead of a maximum four, while Pivac's new-look Benetton will rue surrendering a 12-point halftime cushion in the Welshman's first match in charge.
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