Mauro Bergamasco set for last game on Italian soil against Connacht

Italian rugby icon Mauro Bergamasco will make his last appearance on home soil against Connacht this Saturday as the Irish province travel to the Stadio Lanfranchi in Parma.

Bergamasco captains Zebre from the backrow, in what will be his 301st club game. After 18 years, and 102 caps with the Italian national team, he will hang up his boots following the World Cup in England later this year.

Zebre Rugby head coach Victor Jimenez says his team are aware that they must improve after a bad performance during their last game against Edinburgh; “We had a good week of work, very competitive. We trust in a great performance tomorrow. In the first leg in Galway we suffered on the conquest phases.

“We expect a similar challenge, especially hard for the forwards. Connacht has had a great season, while we have been very inconsistent. Tomorrow we have to go out and achieve a good performance like we have maintained all season in front of our fans”.

One change

Connacht head Coach Pat Lam has made one change to his starting fifteen with scrum half John Cooney named to start in an otherwise unchanged backline in what will be his 13th appearance of the season.

Academy outhalf Conor McKeon is in line to claim his first cap, the cousin of number eight Eoin McKeon, the former Ireland Under-20’s and Lansdowne outhalf joined the Connacht Academy last summer.

Pat Lam says that after a series of good performances from the bench, it’s “great to be able to give John (Cooney) a start tomorrow.

“At this late stage of the season, it’s not unusual for us to be light in terms of players available. We’ve always had to rely on our Academy players to step up when needed and with an eye to the future, young Conor (McKeon) will get a well-deserved chance to do that this weekend. Conor is a talented outhalf who has done very well in his first year in the Academy.

“He has trained with the senior squad for the last four weeks and to gain experience on and off the field in a massively important Pro12 game is the next step in his development.

"We all know how crucial this game against Zebre is. It's must-win territory if we want to keep our hopes of Champions Cup qualification alive. While we have a good record against Zebre, we know too well not to underestimate them.

“While our run in is tight, all we can control is our own performance and we must ensure the win in Italy before we welcome Ospreys to the Sportsground next weekend. We are determined to finish the season on a high - for us and for our supporters.”

Connacht: Tiernan O'Halloran; Danie Poolman, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Matt Healy; Jack Carty, John Cooney; Denis Buckley, Tom McCartney, Rodney Ah You; Ultan Dillane, Aly Muldowney; John Muldoo, Eoghan Masterson, Eoin McKeon.

Replacements: Dave Heffernan, JP Cooney, Finlay Bealham, Andrew Browne, George Naoupu, Kieran Marmion, Conor McKeon, Darragh Leader.

Zebre: Dion Berryman; Giovanbattista Venditti, Matteo Pratichetti, Gonzalo Garcia, Michele Visentin; Luciano Orquera, Brendon Leonard; Matias Aguero, Andrea Manici, Dario Chistolini; Quintin Geldenhuys, Valerio Bernabò; Filippo Cristiano, Mauro Bergamasco, Andries Van Schalkwyk.

Replacements: Oliviero Fabiani, Andrea De Marchi, Luca Redolfini, Andrei Mahu, Jacopo Sarto, Guglielmo Palazzani, Alberto Chillon, Mirco Bergamasco,