Connacht firepower faces tough Treviso test

Benneton Treviso V Connacht:Tonight, Stadio di Monigo, Kick-off – 7.05pm (6.05pm Irish time): IT IS little exaggeration to say that Treviso have used the Magners League to show that Italian teams are not the whipping boys of Europe.

Winning three of their first six matches, Eric Elwood and his strong Connacht selection now know they are in for a battle in Stadio Monigo in which the home team arrives today as favourites.

An opening day victory over the Scarlets was followed by an historic triumph against previous champions Leinster and another home win at the expense of the Dragons has Treviso in eighth place, one above Connacht in the table.

Franco Smith’s men have been the surprise package of this year’s competition and have been playing for recognition in the football-mad country as much as for Magners League points.

“This is a massive opportunity for the players, club and country as a whole. It is our chance to grow and influence the future of the sport in Italy,” said Smith.

“Playing in the domestic game in Italy we were attracting just 600-700 supporters and were lucky to get a report in the local paper, but in our first game over 5,500 people turned up and all the national papers covered the game.”

Elwood has stuck to as strong a side as he can field and makes just two changes from the one that started against Leinster last week. Hooker Adrian Flavin replaces Ireland-bound Seán Cronin and Cillian Willis starts ahead of Frank Murphy at scrumhalf.

Otherwise, Elwood relies on his tried and trusted array of talent, from Gavin Duffy at fullback through to the flying Fionn Carr and captain John Muldoon in the backrow.

Certainly Ian Keatley’s kicking will have to be switched on as Treviso, trimmed by Munster recently, will try to claim the ball with their strong pack.

Rejuvenated, Connacht are probably feeling the frustration of playing good rugby but not getting the points on the board and last week’s 6-18 scoreline ultimately flattered Leinster, with Dominic Ryan’s injury-time try.

While Leinster dominated territory and possession, had Connacht played for a losing bonus point rather than the win late in the match, they may have got it. Cheap penalties also cost them dearly and match savvy against the multi-national Italian team will be an important bearing on today’s outcome.

For Treviso, Italian centre Gonzalo Garcia is set to make his Magners League debut after recovering from a shoulder injury. A wary Connacht travel but with enough fire-power in the team to bring something home, if only a bonus point.

BENETTON TREVISO:B Williams; L Nitoglia, T Benvenuti, G Garcia, J Maddock; K Burton, T Botes; I Fernandez Rouyet, L Ghiraldini, P Di Santo, A Pavanello, C Van Zyl, B Vermaak, A Zanni, R Barbieri. Replacements: F Sbaraglini, M Muccignat, L Cittadini, E Pavanello, M Filippucci, A Sgarbi, F Semenzato, S Picone.

CONNACHT:G Duffy; D Fanning, N Ta'auso, K Matthews, F Carr; I Keatley, C Willis; B Wilkinson, A Flavin, J Hagan, M Swift, M McCarthy, J O'Connor, R Ofisa, J Muldoon . Replacements: D Murphy, R Loughney, B Fa'amausili, B Upton, E Taylor, F Murphy, M Nikora, T Nathan.

Referee: T Hayes (WRU).

Form(last three matches): Treviso – Oct 22: Munster 39, Treviso 13. Oct 17: Perpignan 35, Treviso 14. Oct 9: Treviso 29, Leicester 34. Connacht – Oct 23: Connacht 6, Leinster 18. Oct 15: Connacht 16, Bayonne 13. Oct 9: I Cavalieri 23, Connacht 21.

Betting: Treviso win 4/11. Draw 20/1. Connacht win 2/1.

Verdict: Home win.