URC Rd 3: Benetton v Leinster, Stadio Monigo, Treviso, Saturday, 4.15 Irish time – Live on RTÉ 2 and Premier Sports 1
Leinster crank up the heat in this season’s early skirmishes as they look to cement their customary position atop the URC table with their strongest selection so far for this tricky trek to Treviso.
In again juggling Leinster’s cast of riches, Leo Cullen has made a dozen changes in personnel from the side which recorded a bonus-point win at home to the Dragons last week. Eight Ireland internationals make their seasonal returns and some bloke called RG Snyman will don the Leinster jersey for the first time in a competitive game.
The former Munster man and double World Cup winner has been selected to start alongside Joe McCarthy in a high-powered engine room which Leinster fans must have been imagining for months. What’s more, in front of them Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong also make their first appearances of the season as does newly appointed full-time captain Caelan Doris, with Jack Conan shifting to blindside and Josh van der Flier promoted from the bench.
Ciarán Frawley is given a shot at 10 for his first outing since his dramatic match-winning drop goal against the Springboks in Durban while James Lowe and Hugo Keenan, back in the 15s fold, also make their seasonal bows, as does Ryan Baird from the bench.
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Benetton haven’t flown out of the traps this season. They were forced to salvage a draw at home to the Scarlets, admittedly with a superbly worked 79th-minute try, after initially storming into a 12-0 lead and then lost 42-10 away to the Glasgow Warriors last weekend. That said, lock Scott Scrafton was sent off just before half-time with the score 14-7 and playing more than 40 minutes at Scotstoun with 14 men against the champions who were locked and fully loaded after an opening round defeat would be hard going for any team.
Many of the 18 players they supplied to Italy’s 30-man squad for their summer tour to Samoa, Tonga and Japan were not available for those opening two rounds as well. Talismanic captain Michele Lamaro returns in the backrow, as does lock Niccolò Cannone, centre Tommaso Menoncello and Pumas winger Ignacio Mendy.
Head coach Marco Bortolami also promotes lock Rocardo Favretto in the absence of the suspended Scrafton, as well as scrumhalf Alessandro Garbisi and winger Paolo Odogwu, while Sebastien Negri shifts to blindside.
The influential duo of Federico Ruzza and Lorenzo Cannone will also make their seasonal reappearance in a bench which also has a 6-2 configuration.
Benetton have lost only once at Stadio Monigo in any competition since the season before last– 9-19 to Glasgow in Round 11 of last year’s URC. Against that, Leinster have lost just twice to an Italian opponent in the competition. Admittedly both were against Benetton, here in 2010 and by 17-15 in a rare defeat at their RDS fortress in 2018. But Leinster have won 19 of the sides’ previous 23 meetings overall.
Cullen’s team are also unbeaten in their last seven fixtures with Benetton. Jacques Nienaber spoke of this being a tough challenge, adding: “They also get a big chunk of their squad back that has been with Italy more than the summer, so that will be a proper Test match vibe for us.”
A crowd close to the 5,000 capacity is expected for Leinster’s first visit to the Stadio Monigo in three seasons and a warm sunny day in the northeast of Italy is forecast after the heavy rain of the last two days.
There would be something quite Leinster-like if, a week on from Munster’s historic defeat in a sun-drenched Parma, they were to exacerbate their rivals’ angst by further putting that result into perspective against the traditionally stronger Italian side in a sun-kissed Treviso.
Although Benetton were a much tougher defensive nut to crack last season Cullen’s team look to have the firepower to press home their traditional supremacy in this fixture.
BENETTON: Matt Gallagher; Ignacio Mendy, Tommaso Menoncello, Malakai Fekitoa, Paolo Odogwu; Jacob Umaga, Alessandro Garbisi; Mirco Spagnolo, Siua Maile, Simone Ferrari; Niccolò Cannone, Riccardo Favretto; Sebastian Negri, Manuel Zuliani, Michele Lamaro (capt).
Replacements: Marco Manfredi, Aminu Destiny, Enzo Avaca, Federico Ruzza, Giulio Marini, Lorenzo Cannone, Andy Uren, Leonardo Marin.
LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Ciarán Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, RG Snyman; Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Lee Barron, Michael Milne, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Brian Deeny, Fintan Gunne, Ross Byrne, Scott Penny.
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales).
Forecast: Leinster to win.
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