Payne agony as Ulster fall

ULSTER crashed to their first defeat in any competition to an Italian team and third in succession when they were outplayed by Benetton Treviso at Ravenhill last night.

To make matters worse they have probably lost their star New Zealand signing Jared Payne for the rest of the season after he picked up what looked like a ruptured Achilles tendon in the 16th minute.

Following loses to the Ospreys and the Dragons, it was hoped that home venue would help bring them back on track in the RaboDirect Pro12. Not a bit of it as a multitude of mistakes, lazy running and passing, poor scrummaging and missed tackles gave Treviso a fairly easy ride.