This is the first leg of a novel spring tour for Connacht as they take in Treviso and Bloemfontein, desperate to find some winning form again after the disappointment of last week’s 19-11 home defeat to Zebre. They cannot afford to let Cardiff Blues get further ahead of them in Conference A.
GUINNESS PRO14: Saturday, February 24
BENETTON RUGBY (5th, Con B) v CONNACHT (5th, Con A), Stadio di Monigo, 1pm local time/12pm Irish time (live TG4/Eurosport Italia)
Team News: Forwards Jarrad Butler and Denis Buckley have returned to the Connacht team to face Benetton Rugby in Treviso this afternoon. Tiernan O’Halloran, who missed the game against Zebre last week with a short-term injury, is also back in the starting XV.
Having come through a full 80 minutes last weekend, flanker Sean O’Brien is named at blindside in an experienced back row that includes the fit-again Jarrad Butler and veteran captain John Muldoon.
Jack Carty is selected at out-half where he will form a half-back pairing with Caolin Blade. The westerners are also boosted by the return of Niyi Adeolokun from Injury and Ultan Dillane from international duty, with both players named among the replacements. Dillane will return to Ireland camp after the clash in Italy.
The GUINNESS PRO14 round 16 encounter with Benetton today will form the first leg of a tour for Connacht which will take mostly the same personnel on to Bloemfontein in South Africa to play the Toyota Cheetahs on Saturday week (March 3).
Speaking ahead of the two away fixtures, Connacht head coach Kieran Keane emphasised the importance of having depth in the squad, stating: “We have a number of players coming back from injury which will be a big boost against Treviso on Saturday. They are on a great run of wins and I’m sure they will be targeting us especially when they have been so competitive at home this season.
“The majority of the squad will travel on to South Africa, but we have put plans in place for replacements to join the squad after the game in Italy. These two games will really test the depth of our squad and we will need to be at our best if we want to win them.”
Meanwhile, Benetton Rugby boss Kieran Crowley has made two personnel changes and two positional switches to the side that overcame the Dragons 18-15 at Rodney Parade last Saturday. That result marked a club record fifth straight league win for the Treviso-based outfit.
For the visit of Connacht, Benetton are without 12 players who were brought into the Italy camp ahead of last night’s NatWest 6 Nations match against France, while a further seven are absent due to injury.
Luca Sperandio reverts to full-back with Andrea Bronzini coming onto the right wing in a back-line marshalled by New Zealander Marty Banks, who kicked two vital second half penalties against the Dragons, and former Zebre, Ospreys and Harlequins scrum half Tito Tebaldi.
The pack is unchanged apart from the inclusion of Federico Zani at loosehead with fellow Italian international Matteo Zanusso showing his versatility in shifting to the tighthead side of the scrum. South African lock Irne Herbst and Rotorua-born number 8 Whetu Douglas, who put in a combined 26 tackles in Newport, are growing in influence in the second row and back row respectively.
BENETTON RUGBY: Luca Sperandio; Andrea Bronzini, Tommaso Iannone, Luca Morisi, Monty Ioane; Marty Banks, Tito Tebaldi; Federico Zani, Tomas Baravalle, Matteo Zanusso, Marco Lazzaroni, Irne Herbst, Alberto Sgarbi (capt), Marco Barbini, Whetu Douglas.
Replacements: Hame Faiva, Riccardo Brugnara, Cherif Traore, Marco Fuser, Nasi Manu, Giorgio Bronzini, Marco Zanon, Michael Tagicakibau.
CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran; Cian Kelleher, Eoin Griffin, Tom Farrell, Matt Healy; Jack Carty, Caolin Blade; Denis Buckley, Tom McCartney, Finlay Bealham, Gavin Thornbury, James Cannon, Sean O’Brien, Jarrad Butler, John Muldoon (capt).
Replacements: Dave Heffernan, Denis Coulson, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, Ultan Dillane, Eoghan Masterson, James Mitchell, Craig Ronaldson, Niyi Adeolokun.
Referee: Lloyd Linton (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Eddie Hogan O’Connell, Oisin Quinn (both Ireland)
Television Match Official: Stefano Roscini (Scotland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Benetton Rugby to win: 11/10; Draw: 17/1; Connacht to win: 5/6
Pre-Match Quotes: Denis Buckley (Connacht) – “It wasn’t nice to lose at home to Zebre but I’m back on the field this weekend, and it’s a great feeling knowing that you can directly influence a change in the levels of performance.
“I’ve been out for a long time, it was seven weeks from (ankle) surgery last Wednesday, but it’s pretty good timing to get back fit now. It was actually a quick rehab process and the last two weeks have been all about my running volume and high-speed drills.
“Monday was a tough day. There was a lot of time spent in front of the projector and in our individual units. Everyone had their learnings even the lads who didn’t play. That’s fair enough when you look at the performance against Zebre.
“Guys were frustrated and it was good to have conversations and clear the air. But it’s important to understand why things went wrong. You can put it down to a number of things like individual preparation. Some lads made mistakes where they normally don’t.
“We had a game-plan to beat Zebre. The coaches did their job in analysing the opposition and presenting it to us. They came up with a game-plan to negate the opposition’s strengths. But for one reason or another, things didn’t go right.
“We have a plan to fix things against Benetton. They are going to target us and will be confident. It’s up to us to ensure we nail the basics. Our lineout didn’t settle, we need to sort that, the maul too, and we need dominance at scrum time.
“The scrum was always a big weapon for us. When you go away to an Italian side it can do wonders. That will be a big way for us to get a foothold. Patterns and basic skill execution are a big focus. Once we nail those, all of the other stuff will flow. It’s a tough week but I am confident we can respond.”
Kieran Crowley (Benetton Rugby) – “It has been a number of factors (that has lead to improved results), not just one thing. Antonio Pavanello has come in as sporting director with a clear vision of where he wanted us to go. He wanted to see a change around the club, around the training environment.
“We have changed our style a little bit and some good players have come in. The whole medical system has had a revamp, there are a whole host of things. It is the old story too, if you are always being beaten then you forget how to win. But both us and Zebre have got a couple of wins this year and once you start getting them, you realise how to win and get that self-belief which is a big thing as well.
“There are good players in both teams and sometimes you just need a bit of luck and you start to believe in yourself. I would hope that this is a good sign for Italian rugby. Conor (O’Shea) has done a lot of excellent work behind the scenes to get the systems right, the effort by Zebre was outstanding (against Connacht) last weekend.
“We want this to become the norm. Everyone is trying to do the same thing so you are not always going to be able to achieve it. We have got to get this consistency going. In the past we have been successful at home and not so much on the road.
“Now we have a couple of road wins this year so we have to be consistent and try and pick up more of those. And if we can do that, in what is a tough old competition, we want to carry on and hopefully Zebre can do – we want them to for the good of Italian rugby.”
Top Scorers – 2017/18 GUINNESS PRO14: Benetton Rugby – Points: Marty Banks 55; Tries: Angelo Esposito 7; Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 91; Tries: Tiernan O’Halloran, Tom Farrell 4 each
2017/18 TEAM FORM: Benetton Rugby – Played 15, Won 8, Lost 7, 38 Points; L 34-3 v Munster (away), L 21-14 v Ulster (home), W 20-17 v Edinburgh (away), W 16-6 v Ospreys (home), L 37-21 v Glasgow Warriors (away), W 31-3 v Southern Kings (home), L 24-13 v Edinburgh (home), L 20-8 v Scarlets (away), L 23-22 v Ulster (away), L 36-10 v Leinster (home), W 27-14 v Zebre (home), W 20-16 v Zebre (away), W 27-21 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), W 22-21 v Scarlets (home), W 18-15 v Dragons (away); Connacht – Played 15, Won 5, Lost 10, 28 Points; L 18-12 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 32-10 v Southern Kings (home), L 21-8 v Dragons (away), L 17-15 v Cardiff Blues (home), L 36-27 v Scarlets (away), L 16-8 v Ulster (away), W 20-16 v Munster (home), W 23-15 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), L 36-30 v Cardiff Blues (away), L 24-10 v Zebre (away), W 44-16 v Ulster (home), L 21-18 v Leinster (away), L 39-13 v Munster (away), W 26-15 v Ospreys (home), L 19-11 v Zebre (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Friday, October 10, 2014 – Benetton Treviso 6 Connacht 9, Stadio di Monigo
Sunday, March 1, 2015 – Connacht 53 Benetton Treviso 5, the Sportsground
Friday, November 6, 2015 – Connacht 33 Benetton Treviso 19, the Sportsground
Friday, April 29, 2016 – Benetton Treviso 22 Connacht 21, Stadio di Monigo
Saturday, December 3, 2016 – Connacht 47 Benetton Treviso 8, the Sportsground
Sunday, February 26, 2017 – Benetton Treviso 19 Connacht 34, Stadio di Monigo
MATCH FACTS:
– Benetton Rugby have set a new Italian record with five straight GUINNESS PRO14 victories, and are the equal second best team in the Championship on current form having tallied 23 league points from their last six encounters
– Benetton have won their last three home games in the PRO14 since their defeat to Leinster in round 10
– The Italians have not beaten an Irish province since a home win by a single point over today’s opponents, Connacht, in April 2016
– Connacht’s two victories in the last seven rounds of the PRO14 were both at home, to Ulster in round 11 and the Ospreys in round 14
– The westerners have not won on the road in the PRO14 since a trip to Edinburgh last April
– Connacht have lost just once to Benetton since October 2013: 22-21 in Treviso in round 21 of the 2015/16 campaign
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