Cardiff Rugby left Italy with a losing bonus-point after a Thomas Albornoz penalty snatched a late win for Benetton in the BKT United Rugby Championship.

The Blue & Blacks battled admirably throughout the encounter against a star-studded Benetton outfit but indiscipline and mistakes proved costly.

Cardiff raced into a 3-14 lead following tries from James Botham and Ellis Bevan but were unable to make further opportunities count as Benetton benefitted from the 50-50 decisions and worked their way back.

Benetton led at the break after an Albornoz try and one from the whistle of referee Hollie Davidson. 

Cardiff did manage to regain the lead following an Evan Lloyd try but it was short-lived as Benetton were given a late penalty and made no mistake. 

The Blue & Blacks now sit just outside the play-off places with four rounds of URC action to play. 

With back-to-back matches on the road, Matt Sherratt opted to give his side a reshuffle ahead of next weekend’s European knockout against Connacht.

Cardiff made six changes in total with Teddy Williams coming in to captain the side, alongside Evan Lloyd, Dan Thomas and James Botha in the back. In the backline, Harri Millard moved into the centre with Regan Grace handed a first league start and Ellis Bevan the number nine jersey. 

It was a frantic start to the Stadio Monigo encounter, with Benetton twice threatening to break out from distance but Cardiff the first to cross.

Following good work from Ellis Bevan and Gabriel Hamer-Webb, the Blue & Blacks forced a penalty which Sheedy kicked deep into Italian territory. There was a fine set play from the line out with Evan Lloyd taking the ball on the loop and making 20 metres. 

That laid the foundations and following a series of pick and goes, Botham twisted over on six minutes with Sheedy converting for a 0-7 lead. 

Thomas Albornoz soon responded with the boot but Cardiff continued to impress with a tactically astute performance. 

The Blue & Blacks utilised a smart kicking game, frequently opting to put the ball high from Ellis Bevan with Hamer-Webb and Grace chasing hard. 

They added a second try shortly after the 15 minute mark as a double-pump dummy from Rory Jennings opened the Italian defence and allowed the centre to slice through. He then found Bevan on the inside to race clear. 

Sheedy was again on target to give Cardiff a deserved 3-14 in Treviso but the Italians battled back.

After winning a pair of penalties, Benetton played from a line out in the corner and they eased through the Cardiff defence with Nacho Brex making the key play to put Albornoz over. 

He converted his effort to take his, and Benetton’s, tally to 10 and cut Cardiff’s lead to four. 

Cardiff could, and should, have scored a third try soon after but instead found themselves a man down. Following a fine break from Cam Winnett, Dan Thomas was put into space but the flanker did not head the screams of Hamer-Webb rushing to support on the left. 

He instead opted to kick and Cardiff gave away a penalty at the breakdown with Ben Donnell then shown yellow for stopping the quick tap and was adjudged to have made slight head contact in the process. 

Benetton piled on the pressure but Cardiff defended for their lives and held Toa Halafihi up over the line.

They survived the yellow card period unscathed but the pressure eventually told as referee Hollie Davidson opted to give Benetton a penalty try after their driving maul was brought to a halt.

That was to be the last play of the half as Benetton went into the sheds with a 17-14 lead and they should have extended that minutes into the second-half but spilled the ball over the line. 

A stalemate ensued for much of the second half as blankets of drizzle drove across Stadio Monigo but that was broken on 67 minutes when Lloyd powered over. 

Following a succession of Benetton mistakes, forced by Cardiff pressure, Alex Mann won a fine turnover penalty. 

Sheedy dinked the ball into touch and again Lloyd, just like in the first half, looped round the back. He rode the contact and powered through several defenders to stretch over.

The try gave Cardiff the lead once more but Sheedy pushed his conversion wide as Benetton stayed within two points. 

And it was to prove costly as Davidson awarded a late penalty, which Albornoz converted to snatch the spoils.