It didn’t take long for Zebre to give Asaeli Tuivuaka a run. He was named to start after only arriving at the club 3 weeks ago.

In his first professional match, the Olympic Gold Medallist notched 57 metres off 7 runs with 2 defenders beaten and 1 offload to go along with his attacking statistics.

Defensively it was a mixed bag as Ulster sent a lot of traffic his way. He made 11 tackles but also missed 5. Ulster enjoyed 63% possession and Zebre had to make 100 more tackles than their Irish counterparts.

Benetton win thriller

Italy’s other club Benetton beat Edinburgh in heart-breaking fashion, with a drop goal in the 85th minute. Iliesa Ratuva was on the wing for Benetton while Monty Ioane was at centre and touched down for a try in the 33rd minute. Monty was born to a Samoan father (Paul) and a Fijian mother (Vika). He was born in Australia and is the nephew of former Wallaby Digby Ioane. He has represented Italy on 6 occasions.

Viliame Mata was kept busy for Edinburgh topping the carries for his team with 11 and also the most tackles by any Edinburgh player with 13. Lee Roy Atalifo came off the bench in the 67th minute. The Scottish side is third in their division with a 1 win, 1 loss record.

Mesake Doge started for the Dragons against Leinster. They didn’t manage a try in a dour affair that Leinster won 7-6. Doge managed 5 runs and 8 tackles before he was substituted in the 58th minute. The Flying Fijians prop has started both games for his Welsh club.

See United Rugby Championship’s Fijian stats leaders