URC, Round Six - Teams and Predictions
FRIDAY PREVIEW: The Bulls will have their minds firmly set on returning to winning ways in their third tour game, against Benetton at Stadio Monigo, before the competition breaks until late November.
After suffering their first defeat In the United Rugby Championship in heart-breaking fashion last week when a red card in the fourth quarter saw the Scarlets sneak through for a one-point victory, the Bulls will go into the clash knowing they won their last four fixtures against Benetton.
Their only defeat against an Italian opponent was against this team at Stadio Monigo in the final of the Rainbow Cup in June 2021.
The Italians can vary their play smartly, while a 70% chance of rain is forecast for Treviso on Friday night will make the conditions even tougher.
The Bulls know that they need to convert their forward dominance into points, especially in the second half, where they have battled over the last few weeks.
The visitors from Pretoria are ranked four places higher on the standings than the eighth-placed Italians, but they will be wary of the fact that Benetton is high on confidence after back-to-back victories - a morale-boosting 31-21 away win against the Dragons in Newport and a 38-10 victory against the Sharks in Treviso.
The fourth-placed Bulls have been superior on defence so far this season, conceding 49 points fewer than the Italians in four matches to five by the hosts, while they also boast a better-attacking record with 120 points scored to 104 by Benetton, which should boost their confidence going into the clash.
Talking about the Benetton clash, the Bulls' Director of Rugby, Jake White had this to say about the Italian outfit: “If you go through their team there are lots of Argentinians, they’ve got some Kiwis, some South Africans, they’ve got Zimbabweans.
“They have a really well-balanced squad and put players in certain positions that make their squad so much stronger.
“They made the quarter-finals last year and we played really well to beat them. They recently beat the Sharks with a bonus point, and it doesn’t matter which Sharks team played, they would’ve taken a massive amount of confidence from beating a SA team at home.
“It’s going to be a tough game like it always is, but we just have to find a way to play our best rugby.”
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Marcell Coetzee, who has been in lethal form this year, will combine with Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom in a to-be-feared loose trio to counter the excellent Benetton back row of Alessandro Izekor, Michele Lamaro and Lorenzo Cannone.
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The 31-Test-cap Coetzee spoke to the media this week and emphasised Benetton’s strong points.
“They've got a jack-of-all-trades. They've got a strong set-piece game. They have a good attacking set-up as well,” Coetzee said of Benetton.
“And I think their ruck speed is the quickest in the tournament. So, no, look, they're a well-oiled machine and they're a confident side. So it's going to be a massive task but we're looking forward to it.”
Springboks hooker Johan Grobbelaar is back in the side after the 26-year-old received a red card in the latter stages of the 22-23 defeat to the Scarlets, shortly after coming off the bench.
However, the Bulls challenged the decision earlier this week, and as was the case with David Kriel a week earlier, they did so successfully.
Two of the Bulls’ star Springboks, Ruan Nortje and Gerhard Steenekamp, have been given their mandatory rest this week.
Rhyno Smith returns at fullback for Benetton to form an attacking back-three combination with Paolo Odogwu and Matt Gallagher.
The halfback combination of Alessandro Garbisi and Tomas Albornoz at flyhalf is one of the strong points in the Benetton backline and one that will test the Bulls.
Benetton coach Marco Bortolami made some changes up front which sees prop Simone Ferrari return to the front row while captain Michele Lamaro, Alexander Izekor, and Lorenzo Cannone are set to test the Bulls around the fringes.
“The side was picked to match the qualities of the Bulls, but also to play our game.
“It will be very important to respond physically early in the game. They are a team that scores 60% of the points in the first 30 minutes of every game, so it will be essential to withstand the initial shock and then, when spaces open up, have the right players in the second half.
“We wanted continuity from our last two victories against the Sharks and Dragons.
“We will have to be better, " Bortolami said.
*Scarlets’ nail-biting victory over the Bulls last week ended a five-match losing run at Parc y Scarlets.
They are now 10th in the table having won their last two URC fixtures and have not won three in a row since February 2023.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland selected eight Scarlets players in his touring squad with Sam Costelow, Kemsley Mathias, wings Tom Rogers and Blair Murray, centre Eddie James, hooker Ryan Elias, prop Henry Thomas, and number eight Taine Plumtree all involved against Zebre.
Costelow is back for the Scarlets and this move sees Ioan Lloyd reverting to fullback in place of Ioan Nicholas.
Centre Macs Page replaces Johnny Williams while prop Alec Hepburn and lock Jac Price start in place of Mathias and Alex Craig.
Head coach Dwayne Peel said: “We were obviously delighted with the win over the Bulls, but the focus turns quickly to Zebre, who are a very dangerous side if you give them an opportunity.
“They have good quality runners and like to throw the ball around. It is another important game for us and hopefully, we can build on the momentum and confidence we have generated with our last two wins.”
Italian side Zebre lost by the narrowest of margins at home to Lions last Saturday, their first single point defeat in the competition since they lost at Parc y Scarlets in November 2020.
They have not won away from home in URC since a visit to Treviso in January 2021 and have not beaten a Welsh region in the Championship since Dragons visited Parma in April 2022.
With four defeats from their five games, Zebre are 15th in the table, above only Ospreys.
Friday, October 25
Benetton v Bulls
(Venue: Stadio Monigo, Treviso, Kick-off: 20.35; 20.35 SAST; 18.35 GMT)
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Prediction:
@rugby365com: Bulls by 14 points
Teams:
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Paul Odogwu, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Ignacio Brex, 11 Matt Gallagher, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannon, 7 Michele Lamaro (captain), 6 Alexander Izekor, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Mirco Spagnolo.
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Enzo Avaca, 19 Eli Snyman, 20 Sebastian Blacks, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Andy Uren, 23 Jacob Umaga
Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 David Kriel, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Elrigh Louw (captain), 7 Reinhardt Ludwig, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Keegan Johannes, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Sebastian de Klerk.
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy), Franco Rosella (Italy)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Scarlets v Zebre
(Venue: Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli, Kick-off: 20.35, 19.35 BST, 18.35 GMT)
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Prediction:
@rugby353: Scarlets by 10 points
Teams:
Scarlets: 15 Ioan Lloyd; 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Macs Page, 12 Eddie James, 11 Blair Murray; 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies; Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (captain), 6 Max Douglas, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Jac Price, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Alec Hepburn,
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe. 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Efan Jones, 22 Ioan Nicholas, 23 Johnny Williams.
Zebre: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 14 Ben Cambriani, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giovanni Montemauri, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Giovanni Licata. 7 Luca Andreani, 6 Davide Ruggeri, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Juan Pitinari, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Danilo Fischetti (captain)
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Muhamed Hasa, 18 Ion Neculai, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Giacomo Ferrari, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Enrico Lucchin, 23 Giacomo Da Re
Referee: Morne Ferreira (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Ben Connor & Matthew Leon (Wales)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)