Connacht v Treviso:WITH TWO points separating Connacht and Ulster on the Pro12 table, you can see Eric Elwood lining up tonight's match against Treviso in a certain way. A win for Connacht that would put them ahead of the Ulster boys, if Scarlets win in Belfast, and would do wonders for morale around Galway going into the new year.
First up, though, a Treviso side that really should have gotten more out of Leinster last week.
The erratic kicking of Tobie Botes makes him a victim of South African Franko Smith’s selection, while Elwood has also made several changes.
Ethienne Reynecke and Ronan Loughney have been called into the Connacht frontrow with Brett Wilkinson, having made their mark against Toulouse in the Heineken Cup a fortnight ago.
Frank Murphy and Niall O’Connor make for a changed midfield, the halfback pairing last playing together in Connacht’s narrow defeat to the Cardiff Blues in October.
Centre Dave McSharry moves back inside, while Kyle Tonetti, who joined from Sale Sharks, gets his first taste of senior action at outside centre. That pairing could cause Treviso some heartache.
Treviso, at odds with the governing federation in Italy over the fielding of non-Italian players, expect to bounce back from the defeat to Leinster immediately. To develop domestic players for the national side, the federation pays 60 per cent of club wages in exchange for clubs pushing through Italian talent, especially at scrumhalf and outhalf. No more than five foreign players are permitted and that will be reduced to three in the future.
CONNACHT:G Duffy (capt); M McCrea, K Tonetti, D McSharry, T O'Halloran; N O'Connor, F Murphy; R Loughney, E Reynecke, B Wilkinson G Naoupu, M Swift D Gannon, J Muldoon, R Ofisa. Replacements: A Flavin, D Buckley, R Ah You, M Kearney, E Grace, P ODonohoe, M Jarvis, F Vainikolo.
TREVISO:L Nitoglia; T Iannone, E Galon, A Pratichetti, B Williams; W De Waal, F Semenzato; M Filippucci, P Derbyshire, M Vosawai, B Vermaak, F Minto, I Rouyet, F Sbaraglini, M Rizzo (capt). Replacements: D Vidal, M Muccignat, L Cittadini, C Van Zyl, V Bernabò, G Padrò, E Gori, K Burton.
Referee: N Hennessy (Wales)
Verdict: Home points.
