The UAFC

Okay, who had money on both Italian teams winning this week?

Who drew Benetton in the sweepstake for the last unbeaten team in the league?

Can you give me next week's lottery numbers please?

Benetton but not Zebre.

Benetton are the only unbeaten team in the league after 4 rounds.

I really hope this marks the arrival of the Italians as a decent force.

From unitedrugby.com. It is great to see Zebre getting a win.


"What a weekend for Italian rugby!

First, Zebre Parma ended their 22-match losing run in the URC with a 12-10 win over the Hollywoodbets Sharks on a night of tears and high emotion at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

And then Benetton Rugby triumphed 20-17 against the DHL Stormers - finalists for the past two years - in a titanic tussle out in Treviso to stand alone as the only unbeaten team after the opening four rounds of matches.

Zebre hadn’t tasted victory in the league since April 2022 and that was reflected by the scenes on the final whistle in Parma, as defence coach Richard Hodges recounts.

“It was wild. There were grown men crying,” he said.

“The first person I saw was George Biagi, who is our director of rugby operations. He was just in tears and the girls who work in the office likewise.

“The kit man was hugging everybody, saying thank you with tears streaming down his face. It was just such a relief because this group has just been battered for a season and a half.

“There are a lot of players in our squad who have been there 18 months, two years and had never ever won a game.

“They didn’t know what to do. They got in the changing room and they were trying to find a song to sing! So there was a lot of emotion. It was good to see and quite humbling. Finally, that cloud is lifted.

“It was just a release of emotion and that monkey is off the back now, so it means we can crack on.

“It’s been coming. It’s about changing perceptions and I think in these early games we have done that. We are beginning to get some respect back and that’s what it’s all about.”