Cardiff beat Zebre 40-27 at home in the United Rugby Championship, continuing their promising start. It was Cardiff’s second win in two rounds, after they had beaten the Scarlets in the first round.
Cardiff scored six tries. Tom Bowen led the scorers with two, while Teddy Williams, Jovan Sebastian, Taine Basham and Alex Mann each added one. Cardiff led 40-8 at the half, and 26-8 at half-time. The bonus point was secured in the 36th minute when Mann scored a try following a pass from Ben Thomas.
Zebre responded with three tries in the last 21 minutes. Francisco Minervino scored a try in the first half, while Giacomo Ferrari, Giulio Bertaccini and Giacomo Da Re scored in the final period. Da Re’s try followed a break by Giovanni Montemauri. Tommaso Allen missed a penalty, but then scored the first three points for Zebre.
Cardiff’s coach made four changes to the squad that beat the Scarlets. Dafydd Hughes and James Botham were included in the starting line-up, and Botham was named man of the match. Liam Belcher and Dan Thomas were left out, so Josh McNally led the team in Belcher’s absence. Mason Grady and Cameron Winnett were out of the squad due to injury, while Harri Millard and Bowen were on the wings, with Jacob Beetham at full-back.
Teddy Williams scored a try following a pass from Alex Mann, which was his first competitive home match for Cardiff following a foot injury in October 2025 at the Arms Park. Hughes passed the ball to Sebastian for a try, while Basham scored from a attacking scrum. Callum Sheedy took a grubber kick that led to Bowen’s second try, which he scored after being set up by Johan Mulder.
Scott Sio was forced to leave the game due to injury in the first half. Evan Lloyd came on as a replacement for Basham, and 18-year-old hooker Tom Debs made his debut for Cardiff. The match was played in front of 7,231 spectators at the Arms Park, with Morne Ferreira (SARFU) officiating, assisted by Ben Connor (WRU) and Lucian Dendele (WRU), and with Marius Jonker as TMO. Cardiff travel to Dublin next Saturday to play the reigning champions, Leinster.
