Treviso stun champions Perpignan at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo

Italian champions Benetton Treviso produced one of the most sensational upsets in the history of the Heineken Cup as they beat French champions Perpignan 9-8 in the wet on Saturday.

The Italian side have only picked up one win in four seasons of European rugby, so the upset, against the favourites in group 1, came as a bit of a surprise for the players themselves.

South African flyhalf Marius Goosen kicked all three penalties, with Jerome Porical kicking the visitors first points in the 54th minute.

Late in the game Porical had a chance of snatching the win after he scored a try with only a few minutes left. His conversion kick went wide though, and it was joy for Italian rugby as they picked up their biggest scalp in the competition to date.

Manager of the winning side, Franco Properzi, was over the moon.

"We've had some good results in the past, but in this game we beat the French champions - we've never done that before. It was a great day for Treviso in the Heineken Cup and a significant day for Italian rugby," said Properzi.

"It was a very hard game and it was made all the more difficult in the beginning because of the wet weather. That helped our scrum and pick and drive, but once the sun came out it allowed Perpignan to throw the ball about.

"It has got to be the greatest win weve ever had in the Heineken Cup and it breaks the sequence of eight successive defeats in the tournament that we had suffered in the past two seasons."

"It was a great feeling when the final whistle went and the crowd went mad. They supported us superbly throughout the game and gave us great help."

They travel to Thomond Park next to take on Munster.

The footage isnt great, as it was low scoring and the weather was terrible, but some have requested to see a glimpse of this great moment for Italian rugby, so we obliged.


Time: 0:42

Posted at 7:28 pm | 22 comments

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