Benetton Treviso v Stade Francais preview: Team news, kick-off time, line-ups, odds and stats for the Champions Cup clash - Ruck

Benetton Treviso v Stade Francais preview: Team news, kick-off time, line-ups, odds and stats for the Champions Cup clash

  • Stade Francais look to get off the mark in Europe against Treviso on Saturday:15:15 kick-off
  • Italian side makes four changes ahead of theclash
  • The All Pinks make eight changes for their trip to Italy
  • Stade Francais  back-rower Sergio Parisse faces his former club
Treviso have made four changes, including a positional switch, to their starting XV for their European Champions Cup clash with Stade Français on Saturday at Stadio Comunale di Monigo.

There is just one tweak in the backline with Enrico Bacchin replacing Tommaso Iannone at outside centre while up-front, Alessandro Zanni moves to number eight from openside flank, where he replaces Dean Budd.

The other changes see Rudolph Naude replace Jeff Montauriol in the second-row while in the final change, Alberto de Marchi takes over from Filippo Filippetto at tighthead prop.

Meanwhile, Stade Français have made eight changes to their starting XV but former Treviso fan favourite and iconic Italy Captain Sergio Parisse retains his spot at number 8 for the All Pinks.

Parisse’s men are also without a point in Europe after a defeat to Leicester Tigers in their only outing so far. But they will be sensing an opportunity to get off the mark against the Italians, who are also winless.

And their head coach, Gonzalo Quesada, is hoping the two-time European Cup runners-up can get up to speed against the Italians.

“It would have been terrible not to have a match this weekend after spending a day and a half sharing our suffering and trying to find an explanation after our defeat to Bordeaux,” said Quesada on the ERC Rugby website.

“It’s good to have a game with high stakes to focus on and hopefully bounce back. We still have a little dream of going to the quarter-finals. We saw images of how the team Treviso was solid at home. That’s good. I hope we can play a quality rugby for 80 minutes in all sectors.

“Even though you know I’m trying to remain lucid, and have a cool head, I know the level my responsibilities. I have to control my emotions. But I admit that I struggled to hide my disappointment on Saturday night.Even if we are not in a climate of extreme confidence, it was agreed that there were improvements from several weeks ago.”

 


Check out RUCK’s Champions Cup predictions here.

 KEY STATS
  • Treviso are on a dreadful run in the Champions Cup, having won only one of their last 14 matches in the tournament and they have conceded more than 30 points in 10 of those fixtures.
  • The Italian side have won just two of their last 22 fixtures against French sides
  • Stade Français have played against Italian opponents in the competition on six occasions, winning each by an average margin of 52 points.
  • The Parisian-based outfit have convincingly won both of the two Champions Cup clashes between these teams, outscoring the Italian side 101-15.

 BETTING ODDS
Treviso 8/1. Draw 40/1, Stade Francais 1/14

 PLAYERS TO WATCH
Benetton Treviso: Chris Smylie

Stade Francais: Sergio Parisse

Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Andrea Pratichetti, 13 Enrico Bacchin, 12 Samuel Christie, 11 Edoardo Gori, 10 Jayden Hayward, 9 Chris Smylie, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Francesco Minto, 6 Andrea De Marchi, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Rudolph Naude, 3 Alberto de Marchi, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Matteo Zanusso.
Replacements: 16 Roberto Santamaria, 17 Cherif Traore, 18 Rupert Harden, 19 Tom Palmer, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Alberto Sgarbi, 22 James Ambrosini, 23 Simone Ragusi.

Stade Français: 15 Djibril Camara, 14 Julien Arias, 13 Paul Williams, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Waisea Vuidarvuwalu, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Will Genia, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Sylvain Nicolas, 6 Willem Alberts, 5 Pascal Papé, 4 Hugh Pyle, 3 Paul Alo Emile, 2 Laurent Sempéré, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Laurent Panis, 17 Zurabi Zhvania, 18 Zak Taulafo, 19 Paul Gabrillagues, 20 Raphael Lakafia, 21 Clement Daguin, 22 Jonathan Danty, 23 Hugo Bonneval.


Date: Saturday, December 12
Venue: Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (England), Peter Allan (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)