Benetton rugby finally revealed who their head coach will be next season, when they announced that former Wales and Scarlets coach Wayne Pivan will be the man at the helm with a contract for the next two seasons, and not Jake White or Richard Cockerill as others reported.
Benetton rugby finally revealed who their head coach will be next season, when they announced that former Wales and Scarlets coach Wayne Pivan will be the man at the helm with a contract for the next two seasons, and not Jake White or Richard Cockerill as others reported.
It has been a few years since Pivac coached in Europe, and while his time with Wales came to an unsatisfying end in 2022, there will be plenty of Scarlets fans who hold him in high regard. After all, he guided them to the 2017 PRO 12 title, and followed up by reached the final in 2018 and the Investec Champions Cup semifinals.
Pivac, who has been coaching NEC Green Rockets in Japan, will take over from Calum MacRae, who succeeded Marco Bortolami at the start of the season, and who is returning to Scotland for family reasons.
What then, can Benetton fans expect from Pivac…
Run, Run, Run…
Like most New Zealanders, Pivac likes to keep the ball in hand, and go on the offensive that way.
His Scarlets team were firmly in that tradition. Rhys Patchell and Gareth Davies were halfbacks who wanted to run, Jonathon Davies was the glue in the centre, and Liam Williams and Steff Evans were whippet like on the wing.
Up front, John Barclay, James Davies, Aaron Shingler and Tadhg Beirne provided plenty of quick ball to attack with, and they reached a glorious crescendo with six tries when they beat Munster 46-22 in the Pro 12 final.
Benetton’s Samoa international flyhalf Jacob Umaga has shown he can get a backline moving, and with Paolo Odogwu, Louis Lynagh and Ignacio Mendy outside him, and Michele Lamaro and Manuel Zuliani providing plenty of quick ball, Benetton won’t lack for attacking instinct.
Local Lads
As one of two Italian franchises there should be no excuse for not giving local talent its chance, and Benetton have certainly done that. Paolo Garbisi became Italy’s first choice flyhalf while with Benetton, and earned a move to France, first with Montpellier, and now with Toulon.
Tommaso Menoncello has become a much sought after player, with rumours suggesting he is off to Toulouse next season. It was the same at Scarlets where the Davies (James and Jonathan) brothers, Evans, Shingler, and Patchell all hailed from west Wales to give the team a real sense of its place in the community.
That said, Pivac also knew the value of a strong outside presence, as Beirne and Barclay show. While they produce their own, they have also imported and improved players from further afield. Tomas Albornoz became Argentina’s first choice flyhalf and then moved to Toulon, while Tonga international Malakai Fekitoa has continued to show his class and experience in green and white.
Kiwi Cure
Pivac’s appointment quells the slightly choppy waters that have swelled around the Benetton coach’s position. First Marco Bortolami left a year before his contract ran out to join Sale Sharks, despite achieving some impressive results, and then there was MacRae’s sudden departure.
One thing that Benetton, and Italian rugby has, is good memories of coaches from New Zealand. It was under Kieran Crowley that Benetton began to make their presence felt in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and he helped them win the 2021 Rainbow Cup with a 35-8 victory over the Bulls.
When Italy came calling, Crowley then took the likes of Garbisi, Lamaro, and the Cannone brothers to be the backbone of his team that ended their 36-match Six Nations losing streak and established themselves as a team that kept the ball in hand.
It was reminiscent of John Kirwan’s time as national team coach in the early 2000s, a time when Sergio Parisse, Martin Castrogiovanni, Mirco Bergamasco, and Gonzalo Canale were given their head.
Pivac has vast knowledge and understanding of rugby, so the club and federation must collaborate to ensure they benefit hugely from having him on the payroll, and not let him leave easily, as they did when defence coach Paul Gustard jumped ship from Benetton to Stade Francais after only a year of his three-year contract.
Targets
Benetton are currently 13th in the URC, 11 points ahead of fellow Italians Zebre who are bottom. They were disappointed with their most recent result where a last minute try denied them a win away to the Dragons and means the playoff places are out of reach for now.
They are into the EPCR Challenge Cup knockout rounds and have become a familiar presence in what was once the promised land. They host Cardiff Blues in the Round of 16 in April, and if they win that then there will have home advantage in the quarterfinals too.
Lamaro recently expressed his frustration that Italy should be happy with defeats that they can be proud of. You suspects he feels the same about his club improving their fortunes too. He worked wonders under Benetton’s previous Kiwi coach, how much more can he achieve or be expected to achieve, with their latest Kiwi import?