Connacht have an immediate opportunity to reclaim fourth place in Conference A of the GUINNESS PRO14, but they have a tough task on their hands as hosts Zebre, coached by former Connacht boss Michael Bradley, welcome back nine internationals.
GUINNESS PRO14: Saturday, December 2
ZEBRE (6th, Con A) v CONNACHT (5th, Con A), Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, 2.15pm local time/1.15pm Irish time (live TG4/Eurosport Italia)
Team News: Connacht head coach Kieran Keane has included new signing Pita Ahki in the team to face Zebre. Ahki, who came off the bench to make his debut against Cardiff Blues last week, will make his first start for the province this afternoon.
The selected Connacht side features a new half-back pairing with Steve Crosbie starting at out-half and Kieran Marmion, who has made 101 Championship appearances to date, back at scrum half following his return from Ireland duty.
Up front, Shane Delahunt, who scored two tries from mauls against Cardiff, starts at hooker where he is flanked by Denis Buckley at loosehead and Finlay Bealham at tighthead. Academy player and Sligo native Cillian Gallagher, who made his debut against Worcester Warriors in October, is named among the replacements.
Ahead of the round 10 encounter in Italy, Kieran Keane spoke about the importance of getting a result against Michael Bradley’s men, stating: “While we were disappointed not to beat Cardiff last week, I was proud of the boys and the way they battled to take two points from the game. In this competition it is really important to do well against teams in our conference.
“We will face a big challenge against Zebre on Saturday afternoon. They have made it difficult against a lot of teams so far this season, particularly when they are at home. We will need to be at our best to beat them.”
Meanwhile, Zebre head coach Bradley is boosted by a high number of players returning from international duty and injury for the visit of his former province Connacht in round 10.
Of the nine Zebre players involved in Italy’s November Tests, only co-captain Tommaso Castello is ruled out because of an injury picked up against South Africa last Saturday. George Biagi has been passed fit and will captain Zebre, with fellow lock David Sisi returning on the bench.
There are 11 changes to the side that lost 36-19 to Munster last Sunday, including Galway native Ciaran Gaffney’s move back to the replacements to accommodate Matteo Minozzi’s selection as the starting full-back. Mattia Bellini, Tommaso Boni, Carlo Canna and Marcello Violi, who all started for the Azzurri in the 35-6 defeat to the Springboks, are the other back-line changes.
Leonard Krumov, the powerful 21-year-old lock with Bulgarian heritage, and South African back rower Johan Meyer are the only players retained up front, as Andrew Lovotti, Oliviero Fabiani and Dario Chistolini slot in as an all-new front row, Biagi comes in to partner Krumov in the engine room, and Maxime Mbanda and Renato Giammarioli link up with Meyer in the back row.
ZEBRE: Matteo Minozzi; Mattia Bellini, Giulio Bisegni, Tommaso Boni, Giovanbattista Venditti; Carlo Canna, Marcello Violi; Andrea Lovotti, Oliviero Fabiani, Dario Chistolini, Leonard Krumov, George Biagi (capt), Maxime Mbanda, Johan Meyer, Renato Giammarioli.
Replacements: Luhandre Luus, Cruze Ah-Nau, Eduardo Bello, David Sisi, Jacopo Sarto, Guglielmo Palazzani, Serafin Bordoli, Ciaran Gaffney.
CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran; Cian Kelleher, Pita Ahki, Tom Farrell, Matt Healy; Steve Crosbie, Kieran Marmion; Denis Buckley, Shane Delahunt, Finlay Bealham, Ultan Dillane, James Cannon, Eoghan Masterson, James Connolly, John Muldoon (capt).
Replacements: Dave Heffernan, Peter McCabe, Conor Carey, Cillian Gallagher, Naulia Dawai, James Mitchell, Jack Carty, Eoin Griffin.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Television Match Official: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Zebre to win: 11/5; Draw: 19/1; Connacht to win: 4/11
Pre-Match Quotes: John Muldoon (Connacht) – “It was disappointing to slip up away to Cardiff Blues in the last round, but crucially we picked up two bonus points on the road, and we’ve plenty of positives to bring to Parma this weekend.
“We were inaccurate in a few aspects of the game and we gave Cardiff some easy scores last Friday. Some of the things that we’ve been doing really well over the last couple of weeks just didn’t fire for us. We scored some good tries but let them off very easy by giving them opportunities to score.
“We probably worked a little bit harder for ours than they did for theirs and that’s never a good sign. But any time you get two points out of a game like that is pretty good. It was the shining light out of it.
“Looking at Zebre playing Munster the other day, they were well in it for most of the game. And they will be looking to improve with a lot of their internationals back in the side. Our old coach and friend, Michael Bradley, is in charge, while Conor O’Shea has a big influence over there too. There’s a big Irish presence and they obviously look to do well against the Irish provinces, especially at home.
“They are making massive strides and the big thing they’ve done is brought through some young Italian players over the last few years, and worked hard with them to try and keep them in Italy. They have focused on their core skills to try and improve them too.
“Over the years they have done really well at home. We know that they’re very dangerous and if you don’t give them that respect, you could fall short. Their results so far this season have shown what they are capable of. But if we just fix the things we didn’t get right against Cardiff, we should be able to give it a good shot in Parma.
“We need to go over there with the right attitude and look after our own stuff. And just try and be better at the end of the day. We know we can win over there but there’s no room for error now.”
Top Scorers – 2017/18 GUINNESS PRO14: Zebre – Points: Carlo Canna 61; Tries: Mattia Bellini 4; Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 60; Tries: Tiernan O’Halloran, Shane Delahunt 3 each
2017/18 TEAM FORM: Zebre – Played 9, Won 2, Lost 7, 12 Points; L 22-12 v Ospreys (away), L 41-10 v Scarlets (home), L 54-39 v Toyota Cheetahs (away), W 43-17 v Southern Kings (away), W 27-23 v Ulster (home), L 16-15 v Edinburgh (away), L 24-23 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), L 37-8 v Cardiff Blues (away), L 36-19 v Munster (home); Connacht – Played 9, Won 3, Lost 6, 18 Points; L 18-12 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 32-10 v Southern Kings (home), L 21-8 v Dragons (away), L 17-15 v Cardiff Blues (home), L 36-27 v Scarlets (away), L 16-8 v Ulster (away), W 20-16 v Munster (home), W 23-15 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), L 36-30 v Cardiff Blues (away)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Friday, November 21, 2014 – Connacht 43 Zebre 3, the Sportsground
Saturday, May 9, 2015 – Zebre 10 Connacht 40, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Friday, October 16, 2015 – Connacht 34 Zebre 15, the Sportsground
Saturday, February 20, 2016 – Zebre 34 Connacht 51, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Friday, March 3, 2017 – Connacht 33 Zebre 3, the Sportsground
Saturday, April 1, 2017 – Zebre 25 Connacht 22, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
MATCH FACTS:
– Zebre have slipped to four straight defeats in the GUINNESS PRO14 since beating Ulster 27-23 in Parma at the end of September
– Zebre have scored at least one try in all matches they have played this season, but their only two try-scoring bonus points both came on their mini-tour to South Africa in September
– Connacht’s four-match winning run in all competitions came to an end in Cardiff last weekend
– Connacht have lost their last five away games in the PRO14 since beating Edinburgh 22-19 at Myreside in April
– Zebre achieved their first ever victory over Connacht in Parma last April, a game which was replayed after the original encounter in September had been abandoned at half-time due to lightning, with Zebre 22-10 ahead
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