A bonus point win in front of their home fans is a must for Connacht as they look to get the maximum return against bottom side Zebre and stay in the hunt for the Champions Cup’s last-eight.
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CUP – POOL 2: Saturday, January 14
CONNACHT (3rd) v ZEBRE (4th), the Sportsground, 1pm (live Sky Sports Mix/beIN Sports/Sky Italia/Galway Bay FM/Newstalk/highlights TG4)
Team News: Connacht head coach Pat Lam has made five personnel changes to the team that lined out against the Ospreys in the GUINNESS PRO12 last weekend with two in the backs and three in the pack.
Craig Ronaldson returns from injury to start at inside centre, while John Cooney will play at outhalf for the first time in his career. The scrum half position is filled by the returning Ireland international Kieran Marmion.
Up front, Lewis Stevenson comes in to start in the second row having made ten appearances from the bench this season. The back row sees the return of captain John Muldoon, who missed out through injury last week.
His fellow Galway man Eoin McKeon is named at openside flanker, having reached the 100-cap milestone at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea last Saturday.
James Connolly and Naulia Dawai are named among the replacement forwards. New centre Tom Farrell, who was added to the Connacht squad this week, is named in his first matchday squad for the province in what will also be his Champions Cup debut if he is called upon.
Commenting on the visit of the Italian outfit, Lam said: “We’re excited by the challenge that the Champions Cup presents to us and the opportunity to qualify for the last-eight of the competition. First up, we have a big game against Zebre on Saturday and are fully focused on putting in a performance to get us the points we need.
“Zebre are determined to get their first win in Europe and we know what they are capable of on their day. We have the advantage of being at home in front of our supporters so it’s up to us to ensure we get the job done.”
Connacht’s list of injured/unavailable players currently includes Ronan Loughney, Conor Carey, Ivan Soroka, Conan O’Donnell, Ultan Dillane, Quinn Roux, Ben Marshall, Andrew Browne, Nepia Fox-Matamua, Jake Heenan, Eoghan Masterson, Jack Carty, Marnitz Boshoff, Shane O’Leary, Peter Robb, Stacey Ili, Bundee Aki, Eoin Griffin, Cormac Brennan, Cian Kelleher and Darragh Leader.
Meanwhile, Zebre boss Gianluca Guidi has made six personnel changes and four positional switches to the side that conceded 10 tries in a 70-6 hammering by Leinster in Dublin last week.
Guglielmo Palazzani and Carlo Canna, their top scorer in the tournament, come into the back-line with Edoardo Padovani and Mattia Bellini forming a new centre partnership and Lloyd Greeff moving to the right wing.
Key forwards Tommaso d’Apice and Dries van Schalkwyk are both sidelined through injury, the latter nursing a shoulder problem, so Carlo Festuccia will start at hooker and Federico Ruzza, the scorer of two tries earlier in the European campaign, moves to number 8.
Maxime Mbanda, who was this week named in Conor O’Shea’s Italy squad for the upcoming Six Nations, will captain Zebre for the first time, slotting in at blindside flanker with Johan Meyer on the openside. In the second row, Valerio Bernabo takes over from the benched George Biagi.
CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran; Niyi Adeolokun, Rory Parata, Craig Ronaldson, Matt Healy; John Cooney, Kieran Marmion; Denis Buckley, Tom McCartney, Finlay Bealham, Lewis Stevenson, James Cannon, Sean O’Brien, Eoin McKeon, John Muldoon (capt).
Replacements: Dave Heffernan, JP Cooney, John Andress, James Connolly, Naulia Dawai, Caolin Blade, Tom Farrell, Danie Poolman.
ZEBRE: Kurt Baker; Lloyd Greeff, Edoardo Padovani, Mattia Bellini, Guglielmo Palazzani; Carlo Canna, Marcello Violi; Andrea Lovotti, Carlo Festuccia, Pietro Ceccarelli, Gideon Koegelenberg, Valerio Bernabo, Maxime Mbanda (capt), Johan Meyer, Federico Ruzza.
Replacements: Oliviero Fabiani, Andrea de Marchi, Dario Chistolini, Josh Furno, George Biagi, Carlo Engelbrecht, Derick Minnie, Serafin Bordoli.
Referee: Tom Foley (England)
Assistant Referees: Ian Tempest, Greg Garner (both England)
Television Match Official: Sean Davey (England)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Connacht to win: 1/80; Draw: 75/1; Zebre to win: 30/1
Pre-Match Quotes: Jimmy Duffy (Connacht) – “We never take Zebre lightly and never will – we have massive respect for them and we are staying focused. Up front, they have quality players and internationals, including two international tightheads.
“There are not a lot of weak links in that operation, and then they have a phenomenal player at out-half in Carlo Canna. We are treating Zebre as if they are the top side in the competition.
“We haven’t mentioned the five points but the main focus is on performing, winning the game and respecting the opposition. If we perform, we should be a good position to gain a win and if there are five points on offer, then 100% we will go for it.”
Kieran Marmion (Connacht) – “In that back-line that we have, I am one of the more capped players. We put a lot of onus on everyone stepping up and leading. There are lads in there like Tiernan (O’Halloran) and Jack (Carty) especially, they lead the back-line as well. We share it out amongst each other.
“It has been tough because there was so many people out (injured), people out of position, training in different roles that they are not used to.
“But I guess we just have to do as much as we can and prepare ourselves as well as we can. Lads have just got on with it and we try and take as much confidence as we can out of training.”
Current Form – Connacht – (GUINNESS PRO12): Lost 41-5 v Glasgow Warriors (home), Lost 32-11 v Ospreys (home), Lost 17-8 v Scarlets (away), Won 28-15 v Edinburgh (home), Won 30-25 v Ulster (home); (Champions Cup): Won 23-21 v Toulouse (home), Won 52-7 v Zebre (away); (GUINNESS PRO12): Lost 24-13 v Leinster (away), Lost 21-16 v Newport Gwent Dragons (away), Won 18-7 v Cardiff Blues (home), Won 47-8 v Benetton Treviso (home); (Champions Cup): Lost 32-17 v Wasps (away), Won 20-18 v Wasps (home); (GUINNESS PRO12): Lost 23-7 v Ulster (away), Lost 16-9 v Munster (home), Lost 29-7 v Ospreys (away)
Zebre – (GUINNESS PRO12): Lost 59-5 v Ospreys (away), Lost 11-6 v Newport Gwent Dragons (away), Lost 23-21 v Cardiff Blues (home), Lost 49-5 v Munster (away), Lost 33-28 v Glasgow Warriors (home); (Champions Cup): Lost 82-14 v Zebre (away), Lost 52-7 v Connacht (home); (GUINNESS PRO12): Won 19-14 v Edinburgh (away), Lost 33-10 v Leinster (home), Lost 31-24 v Scarlets (home); (Champions Cup): Lost 36-6 v Toulouse (home), Lost 54-15 v Toulouse (away); (GUINNESS PRO12): Lost 23-12 v Benetton Treviso (away), Lost 24-19 v Edinburgh (home), Lost 70-6 v Leinster (away)
Top Scorers – 2016/17 European Champions Cup: Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 28; Tries: Stacey Ili 3; Zebre – Points: Carlo Canna 11; Tries: Federico Ruzza, Tommaso d’Apice 2 each
Previous European Meetings: 5
Sunday, October 23, 2016 – Pool 2 – Zebre 7 Connacht 52, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Saturday, January 11, 2014 – Pool 3 – Connacht 20 Zebre 3, the Sportsground
Saturday, October 19, 2013 – Pool 3 – Zebre 6 Connacht 33, Stadio XXV Aprile
Friday, January 18, 2013 – Pool 3 – Connacht 25 Zebre 20, the Sportsground
Saturday, October 13, 2012 – Pool 3 – Zebre 10 Connacht 19, Stadio XXV Aprile
Match Facts –
– Connacht have won all five previous meetings with Zebre in the tournament, including a 52-7 victory in round 2
– Zebre are still searching for their first victory in Europe’s top tier competition (L16); the nearest they have come to winning so far was a five-point loss at the Sportsground in 2013
– A win would represent Connacht’s best pool stage performance in a Champions Cup campaign – they have never won four matches in a season
– Connacht have averaged the most metres gained (629) and the most clean breaks (15.5) per game this season, while Zebre have averaged the fewest metres (215) and clean breaks (3.8)
European Cup Records:
Connacht –
2013/14: Failed to qualify from Pool 3
2012/13: Failed to qualify from Pool 3
2011/12: Failed to qualify from Pool 6
Zebre –
2013/14: Failed to qualify from Pool 3
2012/13: Failed to qualify from Pool 3
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