This is the second part of an Italian trilogy for Ulster who will be targeting another five-point return as they look to draw level with the fourth-placed Scarlets in the GUINNESS PRO12 standings.
GUINNESS PRO12: Friday, March 3
ULSTER (5th) v BENETTON TREVISO (11th), Kingspan Stadium, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland/Eurosport 2 Italia)
Team News: Ireland backs Andrew Trimble, Craig Gilroy and Jared Payne have been included in the Ulster back-line for tonight’s crucial GUINNESS PRO12 match against Benetton Treviso.
Springbok back rower Marcell Coetzee is also named in the starting XV after recovering from an illness that saw him miss last Sunday’s bonus point win over Zebre.
Les Kiss will start Gilroy at full-back for the first time this season, while Trimble and Charles Piutau will occupy the wing berths.
Payne, who featured off the bench against the Italians, will start in the 13 jersey, with Stuart Olding alongside him in midfield. Peter Nelson and Ruan Pienaar will continue their successful half-back partnership for the fourth consecutive match.
Rob Herring will again captain the side from hooker and he will be joined in the front row by props Callum Black and Wiehahn Herbst. Kieran Treadwell and Franco van der Merwe will pack down in the second row and the loose forwards are Coetzee, Roger Wilson and Sean Reidy.
John Andrew, Andrew Warwick and Ricky Lutton will provide back-up for the front row, with Peter Browne and Clive Ross named as the additional forward replacements. Paul Marshall, Luke Marshall and Jacob Stockdale will offer strong cover for the back-line.
Almost 15,000 tickets have been sold for this evening’s round 17 game, but there is still availability in some areas – please visit ulsterrugby.com/buytickets for details.
Meanwhile, Benetton Treviso boss Kieran Crowley has kept the changes to a minimum as they face Irish opposition for the second time in less than a week.
Crowley’s charges lost 34-19 at home to Connacht last Sunday, and the lone change for tonight’s encounter with Ulster sees Angelo Esposito come back in on the right wing.
Michael Tagicakibau moves from out wide to inside centre with Alberto Sgarbi, who was last week’s captain, dropping to the bench. New Zealander Dead Budd, who is Treviso’s leading PRO12 try scorer (four) so far this season, will skipper the side from the second row.
ULSTER: Craig Gilroy; Andrew Trimble, Jared Payne, Stuart Olding, Charles Piutau; Peter Nelson, Ruan Pienaar; Callum Black, Rob Herring (capt), Wiehahn Herbst, Kieran Treadwell, Franco van der Merwe, Roger Wilson, Sean Reidy, Marcell Coetzee;
Replacements: John Andrew, Andrew Warwick, Ricky Lutton, Peter Browne, Clive Ross, Paul Marshall, Luke Marshall, Jacob Stockdale.
BENETTON TREVISO: Luca Sperandio; Angelo Esposito, Tommaso Iannone, Michael Tagicakibau, Andrea Buondonno; Ian McKinley, Tito Tebaldi; Federico Zani, Luca Bigi, Tiziano Pasquali, Filo Paulo, Dean Budd (capt), Marco Lazzaroni, Francesco Minto, Robert Barbieri.
Replacements: Roberto Santamaria, Romulo Acosta, Matteo Zanusso, Filippo Gerosa, Guglielmo Zanini, Giorgio Bronzini, Alberto Sgarbi, Andrea Pratichetti.
Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Simon Rees (Wales), Dermot Blake (Ireland)
Television Match Official: Neil Hennessy (Wales)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Ulster to win: 1/100; Draw: 100/1; Benetton Treviso to win: 45/1
Pre-Match Quotes: Les Kiss (Ulster) – “We want to try and get a bit of a more foot-on-the-throat type mentality and not give them (Treviso) access into the game. We’ve got to get out here at Kingspan and be on the money.
“This is not a banana skin game coming up, but it’s a pretty important one. If we can get this one and then the next one (Zebre at home), the season looks completely different.
“We talked about respecting what the opponent has to play for. It gets tougher into the back-end of the season. For us to be somewhere later, we have to make sure we’re honest with each other.
“We made four or five errors in a row (against Zebre). You do it once, you can accept it, but when three or four errors happen in a row that is when you start to give the opposition a real chance.
“It is trying to be real about making sure we reduce those moments and understand why they are happening. It is concentration and focus about delivering the basics in a given moment to keep yourself in a strong position to keep pushing forward.”
Wiehahn Herbst (Ulster) – “There were a lot of positives to take out of it (the 40-17 win at Zebre). It was good that we got five points. Tommy (Bowe) got his 150th cap, David Busby got a try on his debut and it was good to have Jared Payne back on the field.
“As a pack I think we did well. The scrums were solid, we scored a maul try, and it is always a challenge for us as a pack against the Italian sides because they like their scrum and their driving mauls.
“I think we stood up well as a pack but there are a lot of work-ons for us. We gave away a few silly penalties and there were some dodgy scrums that we didn’t have control of.
“I think we can expect the same from Treviso this weekend, it is going to be a physical forward battle for us forwards. The focus is more on us. We know we have a quality back-line so if we can give them good ball, they will do what they can.”
Top Scorers – 2016/17 GUINNESS PRO12: Ulster – Points: Ruan Pienaar 72; Tries: Jacob Stockdale 7; Benetton Treviso – Points: Tommaso Allan 66; Tries: Dean Budd 4
2016/17 TEAM FORM: Ulster – Played 15, Won 10, Lost 5, 48 Points; W 29-8 v Newport Gwent Dragons (home), W 22-11 v Benetton Treviso (away), W 19-8 v Scarlets (home), W 22-17 v Glasgow Warriors (away), W 9-7 v Ospreys (home), L 30-25 v Connacht (away), L 15-14 v Munster (home), L 28-17 v Edinburgh (away), W 35-22 v Cardiff Blues (away), W 23-7 v Connacht (home), L 22-7 v Leinster (away), L 16-13 v Scarlets (away), W 24-18 v Edinburgh (home), W 37-17 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 40-17 v Zebre (away); Benetton Treviso – Played 16, Won 2, Lost 14, 11 Points; L 20-8 v Leinster (away), L 22-11 v Ulster (home), L 64-10 v Ospreys (away), W 27-11 v Newport Gwent Dragons (home), L 22-6 v Scarlets (home), L 45-10 v Edinburgh (away), L 31-14 v Glasgow Warriors (away), L 34-28 v Cardiff Blues (home), L 46-3 v Munster (away), L 47-8 v Connacht (away), W 23-12 v Zebre (home), L 35-28 v Glasgow Warriors (home), L 26-8 v Newport Gwent Dragons (away), L 40-14 v Leinster (home), L 57-20 v Cardiff Blues (away), L 34-19 v Connacht (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Sunday, February 23, 2014 – Benetton Treviso 12 Ulster 14, Stadio di Monigo
Sunday, January 11, 2015 – Benetton Treviso 20 Ulster 20, Stadio di Monigo
Friday, February 13, 2015 – Ulster 43 Benetton Treviso 3, Kingspan Stadium
Friday, October 2, 2015 – Ulster 48 Benetton Treviso 7, Kingspan Stadium
Saturday, January 30, 2016 – Benetton Treviso 13 Ulster 21, Stadio di Monigo
Saturday, September 10, 2016 – Benetton Treviso 11 Ulster 22, Stadio di Monigo
MATCH FACTS:
– Ulster have won their last three matches in the GUINNESS PRO12 with maximum points since going down to the Scarlets in Llanelli in round 13. They have never achieved four bonus point victories in-a-row in the Championship
– Ulster have lost just once at home in the PRO12 in the past twelve months: 15-14 to Munster in October
– Benetton Treviso have not won since beating their Italian rivals Zebre on December 23
– Treviso’s two most recent victories over an Irish province have both been against Connacht, in 2013 and 2016
– The two sides have met on 19 previous occasions in all tournaments with Ulster’s only defeat being 23-12 in Belfast in the PRO12 in October 2011
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