Elite men's Serie A: Viadana conquers Rovigo and celebrates Christmas as leaders

Viadana beat Rovigo 26-23 after 80 minutes of battle on the lawn of the Battaglini stadium in the Venetian city, made heavy by the rains of recent days.

Despite the loose pitch, the cold and the rain that fell at times during the match, the yellow and blacks did not fail to play their proactive rugby and deservedly achieved a victory that pushes them to first place in the standings thanks to the offensive bonus.

The team coached by Gilberto Pavan thus ends 2024 as leaders and moves into pole position for the title of winter champion, virtually assigned at the end of the first round on January 19th.

Read also: Women's Serie A Elite, the results of the sixth round

Viadana immediately made her intentions clear: in the second she went for the goal with Fabrizio Ciardullo and in the eighth with the other winger, Andrea Bronzini, primed by a throw of the game studied on the table. Between the two tries, a finish from Thomson put Rovigo on the scoreboard for a 14-3 lead with which the match opened.

In the 20th minute a yellow card for Patricio Baronio revived the Bersaglieri: Thomson, the author of an imprecise start to the match until then, found the winning streak with a right-footed kick for himself. The South African number 10 converted and then placed a kick a little later to bring the match to 13-14.

Viadana suffers in the second part of the first half, but finds an important spark at the end of the half. Roger Farias gets the ball served after a throw-in maul and crosses the field with a crosskick precise that Bronzini transforms into 5 points. The transformation, although difficult, ends up between the posts to go to the break with Viadana up by 8.

Indiscipline is the Gialloneri's most fearsome opponent, who encounters another yellow card on the first ball of the second half: Boschetti tackles Casado Sandri high and spends 10 minutes reflecting on the sidelines.

Rovigo didn't have to wait and with a choral and elegant action found the way to the goal: Stefano Sironi, one of the best on the pitch, scored with a run across the wide field in which he asserted his size against the opposing midfielders.

When in the 49th minute Roger Farias missed an easy free kick, Viadana trembled, but then did well to find the way to extend further: it was Baronio who closed in on the goal on the hour mark a truly clever multi-phase from the visiting team, with a burning restart from close range. This time Roger Farias doesn't hit the posts from the pitch and Rovigo remains within reach of a break (20-26).

However, the Bersaglieri were never able to truly threaten the opposing team in the last quarter of the match, except with a place by Thomson in the 65th minute. Only Viadana's errors put the game in the balance: Baronio gets a kick passed for protests in the opponents' 22 meters, then Di Chio, who came on in place of the Argentine, forces a long pass which is intercepted by Belloni.

However, Viadana defends well in the final and takes home the match without too many worries. For the yellow and blacks a truly important statement on the road, leading in points throughout the match and proving to be the best team on the pitch. Only constant indiscipline and some problems in an orderly scrum kept the match closed in the score, allowing Rovigo to remain in contact and still bring home a point in front of the friendly public.

Rovigo: 15 Mirko Belloni, 14 Flavio Pio Vaccari, 13 Facundo Diederich Ferrario, 12 Matteo Moscardi, 11 Rafael Lertora, 10 Brandon Thomson, 9 Alberto Chillon, 8 Lautaro Casado Sandri, 7 Duccio Cosi, 6 Stefano Sironi, 5 Matteo Ferro (C) , 4 Paolo Steolo, 3 Entienne Swanepoel, 2 Lapo Frangini, 1 Nicola Pomaro
Available: 24 Enrico Giulian, 17 Andrea Dalla Sala, 18 Antonio Tripodo, 19 Alfonso Zottola, 20 Samuele Ortis, 21 Riccardo Paganin, 22 Andrea Visentin, 23 Paolo Uncini

Scorers Rovigo
Fouls: Thomson (24), Sironi (45)
Transformations: Thomson (24, 45)
Free kicks: Thomson (5, 34, 65)

Viadana: 15 Matias Sauze, 14 Fabrizio Ciardullo, 13 Juan Franco Morosini, 12 Tommaso Jannelli (C), 11 Andrea Bronzini, 10 Martin Roger-Farias, 9 Patricio Baronio, 8 Federico Ruiz, 7 Samuele Locatelli, 6 Juan Wagenpfeil, 5 Juan Cruz Marchiori, 4 Fabrizio Boschetti, 3 Rodrigo Oubiña, 2 Ignacio Dorronsoro, 1 Alan Oubiña
Available: 16 Giovanni Quattrini, 17 Fabrizio Fiorentini, 18 Marlon Mignucci, 19 Jacopo Loretoni, 20 Marcello Catalano, 21 Pietro Di Chio, 22 Benjamin Madero, 23 Simone Brisighella.

Viadana markers
Goals: Ciardullo (2), Bronzini (8, 39), Baronio (59)
Transformations: Roger-Farias (2, 8, 39)
Free kicks:

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