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The hottest topic for Benetton in 2026-27, according to Danpat and Cristian Lovisetto, is a strategic one: repeat last season’s approach, when Treviso focused its energy on the Challenge Cup at the expense of the URC, or try to compete on both fronts?
The precedent cited on the podcast is Wayne Pivac himself, who won the old Pro12 with the Scarlets without going in as favourite, much like Franco Smith wasn’t favourite when he won the 2024 URC with Glasgow, beating holders Bulls away in Pretoria. But the hosts also flag the flip side: La Rochelle paid for two straight Champions Cups with a weaker Top 14 campaign, and Northampton reached a final only to lose it.
Danpat also runs through Benetton’s Challenge Cup pool schedule: away at Castres on 18 October, Lyon at home on 12 December, away at Newcastle in January, and finally Sharks at home. For Lovisetto, repeating last season’s four pool wins will be tougher this time, with the average level of the opposition having risen.
The episode’s second thread is the “winning mentality”: both hosts agree Italy and Benetton already have athletically and technically competitive players, but still struggle to “normalise winning” against the big sides — work the national team has been doing since the Kieran Crowley era. Danpat points listeners back to the channel’s existing interview with Italy captain Michele Lamaro on the subject.
Source: “La stagione del Mondiale” episode of Divagazioni di Rugby, with Cristian Lovisetto (DanPat Rugby, 8 September 2026).
Read also: Benetton: the Pivac era begins, and the test against Black Lion