URC: Benetton v Connacht, Stadio Monigo di Comunale, Saturday, 1pm Irish time – Live on TG4 and Premier Sports
Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins will be expecting a positive reaction from his players following last weekend’s abject performance in defeat to a 14-man Lions team. It certainly won’t be easy travelling to Treviso to face a Benetton team that contributed heavily to Italy’s best ever Six Nations tournament.
Wilkins has made seven changes, four of which are in the pack with prop Jordan Duggan, hooker Dave Heffernan, flanker Shamus Hurley-Langton and number eight Paul Boyle named in the starting team. Scrumhalf Caolin Blade misses out through injury while outhalf JJ Hanrahan is following the return-to-play protocols. Michael McDonald and Jack Carty form a new halfback partnership.
Diarmuid Kilgallen returns to the team following injury while Eoin de Buitléar, Jarrad Butler, Shane Jennings and Shayne Bolton are promoted to the bench. Ireland internationals Bundee Aki and Finlay Bealham are not named in the 23.
Wilkins said: “[It] is a hugely significant game for both ourselves and Benetton. There is very little between the teams from fourth to 11th in the URC table, and one result can see any team make a big rise up the standings.
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“Benetton are a team with international quality throughout their squad, and we have always found our encounters over in Treviso to be an enormous physical and mental test.
“Having been disappointed with both our performance and result last weekend, it is now about delivering the appropriate response. So it is a challenge that we are hugely excited about and will travel to Italy highly motivated and determined to deliver a big performance.”
It will be an interesting test for Connacht’s young centre combination of David Hawkshaw and Cathal Forde as they square off against Tommaso Menoncello and Juan Ignacio Brex, who were so impressive for Italy in the Six Nations. Benetton look to have too much in hand for the visitors and anything other than a home win would be a surprise on current form.
BENETTON: R Smith; I Mendy, T Menoncello, I Brex, O Ratave; J Umaga, A Garbisi; T Gallo, G Nicotera, G Zilocchi; N Cannone, E Snyman (capt); A Izekor, M Lamaro, T Halafihi.
Replacements: B Bernasconi, M Spagnolo, T Pasquali, F Ruzza, L Cannone, A Uren, T Albornoz, M Fekitoa.
CONNACHT: T O’Halloran; D Kilgallen, D Hawkshaw, C Forde, A Smith; J Carty (capt), M McDonald; J Duggan, D Heffernan, J Aungier; N Murray, J Joyce; C Prendergast, S Hurley-Langton, P Boyle.
Replacements: E de Buitléar, D Buckley, S Illo, D Murray, J Butler, C Reilly, S Jennings, S Bolton.
Referee: M Ferreira (South Africa).
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