RUGBY/Treviso v Leinster:WHEN TREVISO head coach Franco Smith was asked before the season what his main ambition for their debut in the league was, he answered succinctly: "Respect at home".
To that end, they made a storming comeback to beat the Scarlets at Stadio Monigo in front of 5,000 fans on their opening night a fortnight ago, and there are enough marquee names in Leinster’s line-up to ensure the home side will be seriously up for this game as well.
Granted, the form of that win was undermined a tad when the Scarlets struggled to beat Connacht at home last week, but all the signs are that, as the more settled of the two new Italian entities, Treviso have been better equipped to hit the ground running.
They also have a history of taking scalps at home in the Heineken Cup.
Mindful of this, Joe Schmidt has picked a strong side with which to build on last week’s win. Gordon D’Arcy, Rob Kearney, Eoin Reddan and Rhys Ruddock make their seasonal returns in the starting line-ups. Although Kearney will be glad to have been chosen at his preferred fullback, with Luke Fitzgerald switching to the wing, the fullback’s role has expanded with the greater emphasis on counter-attacking and link play at the expense of kick-pong, and Fitzgerald has thrown down the gauntlet in what is a big season for Kearney.
Cian Healy and John Fogarty are also promoted from the bench.
International Maori winger Joe Maddock, a prolific and classy finisher, makes his Treviso debut in a potentially potent back three along with Brendan Williams and Luke McLean. With lock Antonio Pavanello injured, hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini, the Azzurri captain during the last Six Nations campaign, leads the side.
Such are their tight-five resources that the Italian trio of Ignacio Fernandez Rouyet, Lorenzo Cittadini and lock Valerio Bernabò, all start for the first time, while another Azzurri hooker, Franco Sbaraglini, will be on the bench after a long injury absence.
On what is likely to be a wet night, Leinster will need to be tight from the start, for this is about imposing their greater quality and keeping home team and crowd alike quiet.
LEINSTER: R Kearney; I Nacewa, E O’Malley, G D’Arcy, L Fitzgerald; I Madigan, E Reddan; C Healy, J Fogarty, M Ross, N Hines, E O’Donoghue, R Ruddock, S Jennings (capt), S O’Brien. Replacements: R Strauss, H van der Merwe, S Shawe, M Galarza, S Keogh, I Boss, F McFadden, D Kearney.
TREVISO: B Williams; J Maddock, T Benvenuti, A Sgarbi, L McLean; K Burton, T Botes; I Fernandez Rouyet, L Ghiraldini (capt), L Cittadini, V Bernabò, C Van Zyl, R Barbieri, A Zanni, M Vosawai. Replacements: D Vidal, F Sbaraglini, P Di Santo, E Pavanello, P Derbyshire, E Galon, F Semenzato, S Picone.
Referee: Peter Allan (SRU).
Previous meetings: (HC) (04-05) Treviso 9 Leinster 25; Leinster 57 Treviso 17. Leading points scorers: Treviso – Tobie Botes 30. Leinster – Isa Nacewa 22. Leading Try scorers: Treviso – T Benvenuti, E Galon, T Botes, B Williams 1 each. Leinster – I Boss, D Ryan, S Jennings, I Nacewa, F McFadden, I Madigan 1 each.
Forecast: Leinster to win.
