Jacob Umaga and the English rugby players driving Benetton to success

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Five players raised in England have swapped the Premiership for life in the beautiful Italian city of Treviso

By No Helmets Required

The weather starts to warm up nicely in Treviso at this time of year and so does the race for playoff places in the United Rugby Championship. Benetton – Treviso's team and the cream of Italian rugby – are fifth in the league table and on course to reach the URC quarter-finals, booking a place in next season's European Champions Cup in the process, but they could slip out of the top eight with just one defeat.​

The club's annual budget of €8m is half what league leaders Leinster spend, but the Benetton family expect a return on their money. With three games to play in the regular season and their place in the top eight still not secured, the heat is on. "There's a lot more focus now," says Jacob Umaga, the former England international who joined the club in 2022 when Wasps went into administration. "We've not reached our ceiling and we've got such a good squad. We've got two of our last three games away and know one poor performance will take us straight out of the top eight."