Leinster backs coach Girvan Dempsey has warned that ‘you underestimate Zebre at your peril’ as the province venture south to Parma to face the second-from-bottom Italians. Minus a plethora of internationals, Leinster are focused on chalking up another win and reclaiming top spot in the GUINNESS PRO12.
GUINNESS PRO12: Saturday, November 5
ZEBRE (11th) v LEINSTER (2nd), Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, 5.05pm local time/4.05pm Irish time
Team News: For this weekend’s trip to Italy, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has made seven changes to the team that beat Connacht in interprovincial action at a sold-out RDS.
Lansdowne clubman and Ireland Sevens captain Tom Daly will make his Leinster debut in the centre and 20-year-old loosehead prop Andrew Porter is set for his first start in the number 1 jersey.
Isa Nacewa captains the province from full-back with try scorers from last Saturday and two of Daly’s Sevens international colleagues, Adam Byrne and Barry Daly, continuing on the right and left wing respectively.
Noel Reid is again selected at inside centre for his seventh start of the season, combining with 23-year-old Carlow native and former Knockbeg College student Tom Daly who dons a Leinster senior jersey for the first time.
Jamison Gibson Park continues at scrum half with Leinster Academy out-half Ross Byrne partnering him from the start in Parma having come off the bench against Connacht.
Porter will be joined in the front row by experienced international duo Richardt Strauss and Michael Bent. Hooker Strauss has recovered from knee surgery to make his first senior appearance of the season having played for Leinster ‘A’ and Old Wesley over the last two weekends.
Mike McCarthy comes into the second row and will be joined by former Maori All Black Hayden Triggs, who is set for his second appearance of the season. The back row is unchanged with Dan Leavy, the man-of-the-match against Connacht, chosen at blindside flanker, Sean O’Brien at openside and Jack Conan packing down at number 8.
The Leinster management have gone with six forwards and two backs on his bench. Rhys Ruddock makes a welcome return from a calf injury and UCD back Hugo Keenan (pictured below) is in line to make his Leinster debut. The 20-year-old has played for Leinster ‘A’ in the first two rounds of the British & Irish Cup on the right wing, and Saturday represents his first senior matchday involvement.
Meanwhile, unsurprisingly, Zebre boss Gianluca Guidi has kept faith with the side that secured the club’s first win of the season – a 19-14 triumph at Edinburgh last week – apart from Matteo Pratichetti’s inclusion at outside centre.
Pratichetti is the only change as he takes over from the injured Tommaso Boni. Forwards Andrea de Marchi and Josh Furno are also absent through injury, but Zebre will take to the pitch with 10 Italian internationals in their line-up, as well as Azzurri prop Pietro Ceccarelli on the bench.
Winger Giovanbattista Venditti’s 78th-minute try, allied to the unerring boot of Carlo Canna (14 points), earned the Italian club’s maiden victory on Scottish soil, so they will be eager to make more history against a Leinster side that has 14 internationals away with the Ireland squad in Chicago.
ZEBRE: Edoardo Padovani; Giulio Bisegni, Matteo Pratichetti, Tommaso Castello, Giovanbattista Venditti; Carlo Canna, Marcello Violi; Andrea Lovotti, Tommaso d’Apice, Dario Chistolini, Quintin Geldenhuys, George Biagi (capt), Maxime Mbanda, Johan Meyer, Dries van Schalkwyk.
Replacements: Carlo Festuccia, Bruno Postiglioni, Pietro Ceccarelli, Federico Ruzza, Derick Minnie, Guglielmo Palazzani, Carlo Engelbrecht, Simone Balocchi.
LEINSTER: Isa Nacewa (capt); Adam Byrne, Tom Daly, Noel Reid, Barry Daly; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson Park; Andrew Porter, Richardt Strauss, Michael Bent, Mike McCarthy, Hayden Triggs, Dan Leavy, Sean O’Brien, Jack Conan.
Replacements: James Tracy, Peter Dooley, Mike Ross, Mick Kearney, Rhys Ruddock, Nick McCarthy, Dominic Ryan, Hugo Keenan.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Simon Rees (Wales), Filippo Bertelli (Italy)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Zebre to win: 11/4; Draw: 20/1; Leinster to win: 3/10
Pre-Match Quotes: Girvan Dempsey (Leinster) – “Zebre are a quality side and you can’t underestimate them, particularly at home. You look at Zebre’s results at home – Glasgow, Cardiff – and they were well in the game and will probably look back and rue a few opportunities that they spurned.
“They scored three tries in both those games, they had Connacht at 22-10 at half-time when the storm came in and the game got cancelled.
“They’re going to be buoyant and really on a high after getting an away win against Edinburgh, so we know that we can’t underside them, and would underestimate them at our peril. We’ve got to make sure that we’re accurate, build on the performance against Connacht and make sure our heads are clued in to do a job.
“We’re fortunate that we have the out-halves in the system, and that they’re all performing. When you get international call-ups with Johnny (Sexton) and now Joey (Carbery), who’ll hopefully get more, it provides opportunities for the other guys left behind.
“Ross (Byrne) has been unfortunate getting injuries at the wrong time. He had an ankle injury earlier in the season and a few last season, which stopped him from getting opportunities during international periods. He is a cracking footballer and has worked really well on his game.”
Top Scorers – 2016/17 GUINNESS PRO12: Zebre – Points: Carlo Canna 36; Tries: Giovanbattista Venditti 3; Leinster – Points: Isa Nacewa 39; Tries: Isa Nacewa, Josh van der Flier 3 each
2016/17 TEAM FORM: Zebre – Played 6, Won 1, Lost 5, 7 Points; L 59-5 v Ospreys (away), L 11-6 v Newport Gwent Dragons (away), L 23-21 v Cardiff Blues (home), L 49-5 v Munster (away), L 33-28 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 19-14 v Edinburgh (away); Leinster – Played 7, Won 6, Lost 1, 26 Points; W 20-8 v Benetton Treviso (home), L 33-25 v Glasgow Warriors (away), W 33-20 v Edinburgh (away), W 31-19 v Ospreys (home), W 16-13 v Cardiff Blues (away), W 25-14 v Munster (home), W 24-13 v Connacht (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Sunday, February 9, 2014 – Zebre 8 Leinster 31, Stadio XXV Aprile
Friday, March 21, 2014 – Leinster 27 Zebre 0, the RDS
Saturday, October 11, 2014 – Zebre 3 Leinster 20, Stadio XXV Aprile
Friday, February 20, 2015 – Leinster 29 Zebre 8, the RDS
Friday, February 12, 2016 – Leinster 52 Zebre 0, the RDS
Sunday, February 28, 2016 – Zebre 10 Leinster 27, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
MATCH FACTS:
– Zebre opened their win account this season with a 19-14 success over Edinburgh at BT Murrayfield last Friday, but have not recorded successive victories in the Championship since beating Benetton Treviso home and away over Christmas and New Year last season
– Leinster’s only defeat in the first seven rounds of the PRO12 was 33-25 at Glasgow on September 10
– The Leinstermen have lost just once to Italian opponents in the history of the PRO12: 29-13 in Treviso in their very first such fixture in September 2010
– Leinster have won all eight previous encounters with Zebre, seven with a try-scoring bonus point, while not allowing Zebre to record a single league point
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