Lions Lions 18 - 26 Benetton Benetton

● full_time 80 minutes

06 Dec 2025

EPCR Challenge Cup

Stage: Pool 2 Round 1

Ellis Park

Head to Head

🎉 1
👏 1
🔥 1

Benetton Rugby secured a hard-fought victory against the Lions with a final score of 26-18. Rhyno Smith opened the scoring for the away team with an early try, swiftly followed by penalties from both teams. The Lions responded through Kelly Mpeku's try and Chris William Smith's conversion, bringing the score to 10-12 at halftime. In the second half, Ruan Venter added another try for the Lions, but Benetton's Leonardo Marin answered back with two tries, showcasing his exceptional finishing ability. A drop goal from Tomas Albornoz in the closing minutes sealed the win for Benetton. The Lions' Kelly Mpeku received a yellow card, which impacted their momentum during a crucial phase of the match. This victory marked another successful outing for Benetton against the Lions, continuing their dominance in recent encounters.

Weather

Temperature: 24.2°C (Feels like 23.5°C) Condition: MostlyCloudy Wind: 8.7 km/h, gusting to 27.8 km/h Humidity: 46% Cloud Cover: 87%

Highlights

Events

  • 0' kickoff
  • 4' substitution Michele Lamaro
  • 5' try Rhyno Smith
  • 9' penalty Chris William Smith
  • 12' penalty Jacob Umaga
  • 13' substitution So'otala Fa'aso'o
  • 36' try Kelly Mpeku
  • 37' conversion Chris William Smith
  • 40' half_time
  • 40' second_half
  • 44' try Ruan Venter
  • 46' substitution Bautista Bernasconi
  • 47' substitution Franco Marais
  • 47' substitution Asenathi Ntlabakanye
  • 50' substitution Thomas Gallo
  • 50' substitution Simone Ferrari
  • 56' penalty Chris William Smith
  • 57' substitution Niccolo Cannone
  • 58' substitution Andy Uren
  • 58' substitution Jacob Umaga
  • 58' substitution Eli Snyman
  • 59' penalty Tomas Albornoz
  • 60' substitution Ruan Venter
  • 62' substitution Morne van den Berg
  • 63' substitution Michele Lamaro
  • 66' substitution SJ Kotze
  • 66' substitution Etienne Oosthuizen
  • 67' yellow_card Kelly Mpeku
  • 70' try Leonardo Marin
  • 71' conversion Tomas Albornoz
  • 71' substitution Chris William Smith
  • 71' substitution Eduan Keyter
  • 73' substitution Manuel Zuliani
  • 74' try Leonardo Marin
  • 77' yellow_card_complete Kelly Mpeku
  • 78' drop_goal Tomas Albornoz
  • 80' full_time