Rugby Union: Italian cup triumph is historic in anybody's language

Harlequins 19 Treviso

IT SHOULD come as no surprise to long-suffering English rugby fans to learn that Treviso's historic victory over Harlequins, the first by an Italian club side over an English club side in the brief history of the European Cup, came courtesy of a drop goal - by a South African.

Jacques Benade had only arrived in Europe the previous weekend. He trained three times last week and speaks no Italian, so could not call any of the moves that he and the backs had practised in what precious little time there was to prepare.

The 30-year-old former geography teacher, who played Super 12 rugby for Natal Sharks in the summer, admitted he was still suffering from culture shock.

"It was so cold when I arrived, snow and everything," he said. "I did not expect to play today but both our other fly-halves were injured so there was no choice. I watched Treviso when they were beaten by Montferrand last week - a match I think they could and should have won, and I see no reason why Harlequins should not beat them when they meet - and I saw that the backs had no set moves. We worked on three during the week, but when I called them today they didn't work, because no one could understand me and I could not understand them."

As things turned out it did not matter. Nor did Benade's three out of four missed penalties. "My timing was not good," he said. "My rhythm felt wrong. It is a different ball; we were playing on longer grass than there is even in Italy."

He handed over the kicking duties to Corrado Pilat in the second half, a good move since the full-back knocked over three out of three, matching the 100 per cent penalty record of Harlequins' Gareth Rees.

He did only land one drop goal, however, out of three attempts. "The guys had said to me, `don't worry about trying to match Jannie de Beer's five drop goals, four will do us,' " explained Benade, but since his sole success was the winning kick, the misses did not matter.

That, and his brilliant interception which led to his second- half try, accounted for the grin which did not leave his face. Benade was able to cut out Will Carling's pass after overhearing a Harlequin call to go wide.

Benade moved across to cover the extra man Quins had, but instead he was able to reach out, snatch the ball - and as it turned out - victory from the jaws of the English side.

He touched down unopposed under the posts and converted it. There then followed a couple of Pilat penalties, Benade's 75th-minute drop goal and a whole heap of unavailing pressure from a desperate Harlequins.

"We prepared well for this match all week," said Quins director of rugby John Gallagher, "but Treviso are no pushovers." Maybe not, but Harlequins had victory in their grasp with a 19-3 half-time lead. What happened thereafter was sinful.

Quins were not able, or even more correctly, permitted, to record their second successive draw in the Heineken Cup. Rather they were made to pay for profligacy and, it has to be said, a certain amount of complacency in what was overall a poor match.

There were too many errors in both halves. As commendable as their back row of Chris Sheasby, Pat Sanderson and Zinzan Brooke were, pretty well every ounce of possession was wasted one way or another, either in turnovers or appaling options.

Harlequins: Try Morgan; Conversion Rees; Penalties Rees 3; Drop goal Liley. Treviso: Try Benade; Conversion Pilat; Penalties Benade, Pilat 3; Drop goal Benade.

Harlequins: G Rees; J Keyter, D Officer, W Carling (capt), D O'Leary; R Liley (J Schuster, 65-72), P Richards; J Leonard, C Ridgway (T Murphy, 61), D Barnes, G Morgan, G Llewellyn (S White-Cooper, 77), Z Brooke, C Sheasby (R Jenkins, 69), P Sanderson.

Treviso: C Pilat; M Perziano, M Dallan (T Visentin, 41), J Wright, A Common; J Benade, A Moore; G Grespan (N de Meneghi, 75), A Moscardi (S Saviozzi, 61), F Properzi-Curti (G Fauva, 75), W Visser, A Gritti, C Checchinato, A Richter, A Sgorlon (capt; O Orancio, 61).

Referee: A Watson (Ireland).