Benetton Treviso v Glasgow Warriors, 5 October

                               
Benetton Treviso v Glasgow Warriors
Sunday 5 October 2014
KO 15:00
Stadio Monigo

Referee: Gary Conway (IRFU, 3rd competition game)
Assistant Referees: Claudio Blessano, Andrea Spadoni (both FIR)
Citing Commissioner: Stefan Marrama (FIR)
TMO: Stefano Penne (FIR)

A. Teams:

Benetton Treviso

15 Jayden Hayward
14 Angelo Esposit
13 Michele Campagnaro
12 Luca Morisi
11 Ludovico Nitoglia
10 Joe Carlisle
9 Edoardo Gori

8 Mat Luamanu
7 Marco Lazzaroni
6 Simone Favaro
5 Marco Fuser
4 Antonio Pavanello (captain)
3 Rupert Harden
2 Davide Giazzon
1 Matteo Muccignat

Replacements:
16 Giovanni Maistri
17 Matteo Zanusso
18 Romulo Acosta
19 Francesco Minto
20 Leo Auva'a
21 Marco Barbini
22 Sam Christie
23 Alberto Lucchese

Glasgow Warriors
 
15. Stuart Hogg
14. Tommy Seymour
13. Sean Lamont
12. Peter Horne
11. DTH van der Merwe
10. Duncan Weir
9. Niko Matawalu

1. Alex Allan
2. Pat MacArthur
3. Rossouw de Klerk
4. Tom Ryder
5. Al Kellock (Captain)
6. James Eddie
7. Tyrone Holmes
8. Josh Strauss

Replacements
16. Fraser Brown
17. Jerry Yanuyanutawa
18. Zander Fagerson
19. Leone Nakarawa
20. Chris Fusaro
21. Ali Price
22. Finn Russell
23. James Downey

B. Form - head to head:

8 Played 8
2 Wins 6
6 Losses 2
0 Draws 0
8 Tries 21
7 Conversions 17
15 Penalties 20
2 Drop Goals 0
105 Points 199
25 Avg. Age 26

C. Form - last season:

Friday 4 April 2014
Glasgow Warriors 29 - 10 Benetton Treviso
Scotstoun Stadium

Fri 2 May 2014
Benetton Treviso 16 - 38 Glasgow Warriors
Stadio Monigo

Surely a try bonus points for Glasgow coming up.

I'd keep Hogg at 15 - he is really coming into a great patch of form and I'd love to see that run through the AIs. I'd also bring back the two mad Fijians - Treviso will not have the structure and defensive discipline to handle the pace and offloads.

With the Fijians I guess it depends if they are fit or not, Niko certainly looked the more worrying of the 2 when he went off. If he is going to be away for a little while, then we will have to see McConnell start at some stage, it is a long season and Henry may well be in the Scotland mix as he is playing very well, in that case this may be the game to do that.

We have plenty options now in the second row now that Kellock and Ryder are back. Who plays is going to be more about who is fit or needs a rest. This is a game we should win whoever plays in the second row. Slightly more worrying is the front row, who will be without Murray. If they have nothing else, I imagine that the Italians will still have a half decent scrum and it is the one area we have looked a bit vulnerable in this season. We are potentially only one injury away from being vulnerable here and really need Cussack back and on form.

I can see Finn Russell starting this game at FH as he has had his two warm ups now. Duncy has played pretty well but is due a rest and we need to see what if Finn can kick on from last year and try and tie down the 10 shirt for Glasgow and Scotland. Horne, Dunbar and Downey will be the inside backs, though I would not like to guess who will play and who will bench. Outside them, again, like second row we can almost take our pick, though I agree Hoggy could do with one more game to try and cement his form. That would mean Murchie sitting out three though, which given how well he played earlier on would hardly be fair. This might be a game to see what Rory Hughes can do as well, he seems to be pushing quite hard and certainly played well in the pre season games, probably an outside call for the bench.

Is there such a thing as having to strong a squad? it is going to be very hard to keep them all happy. I guess we will see that when contract renewal time comes along, particularly with Hogg, who undoubtedly has very good market value elsewhere.

Christ, your eager aren't you.

Its good to be in the position of looking forward to games instead of dreading them!

BigGee wrote:Its good to be in the position of looking forward to games instead of dreading them!

True enough.

Murray not playing is the biggest worry. de Klerk has a long way to go and Jerry as his backup doesn't bear thinking about. On de Klek, who does someone come over from playing Super Rugby and be so out of shape?

De Kerk has proved to be average so far and Jerry isn't a TH, end of. There is no better game than this one to bring Cusack back.

Treviso's scrum is very average but they do have a good lineout drive which has been a worry for Glasgow so far.

Actually not been impressed by the Glasgow's pack so far. The quality of their backs is what is winning them games.

LordDowlais wrote:Christ, your eager aren't you.

There's an actress and bishop joke there somewhere and a weaker man than me would have made it.

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:Murray not playing is the biggest worry.  de Klerk has a long way to go and Jerry as his backup doesn't bear thinking about.   On de Klek, who does someone come over from playing Super Rugby and be so out of shape?

Seriously, I would not worry about this one if I were a Glasgow fan, you beat the Dragons with 14 men at there own place, and they just smashed this Treviso side, so I would think that this is a gimmee for you lot.

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:who does someone come over from playing Super Rugby and be so out of shape?

WP Nel was a real fat boy when he came over from the Cheetahs.  South African props definitely aren't the finely tuned athletes that you get in Europe like John Welsh and Matt Stevens!

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:who does someone come over from playing Super Rugby and be so out of shape?

WP Nel was a real fat boy when he came over from the Cheetahs.  South African props definitely aren't the finely tuned athletes that you get in Europe like John Welsh and Matt Stevens!

Blaauw was also pretty hefty coming over - still is. Not convinced Bresler is as fit as he should be, although in his defence he did arrive with an injury.

True.

It does seem that Europe (apart from France) are miles ahead in strength and conditioning. Just thinking back to all of Edinburgh's recent South African signings (and there's been a few!) the only one that really hit the ground running was Du Preez - the rest took months before they looked fit. Josh Strauss said himself his ankles and calfs were killing him because he was so used to running on hard South African ground, not swamp-like Glaswegian ground.

It does make you wonder how South Africa physically dominate so many teams though....

De Klerk looks like he might come good - and is still relatively middle aged in propping terms- he just might be struggling with the conditioning and different ground type.

Dougie Hall is also back now, which is a good thing - he played the full 80 for his club side last week, I think. So no more fecking awful throwing in.

George Carlin wrote:Dougie Hall is also back now, which is a good thing - he played the full 80 for his club side last week, I think. So no more fecking awful throwing in.

I still want Brown and Bryce to get plenty chances this season. We'll need at least one of those guys come the World Cup, unless Stuart McInally rises like a phoenix from the ashes.

I'd like to see McConnell start and maybe a back line like this?

McConnell, Horne, Jones, Downey, Bennett, Maitland, Hogg

Also think Harley deserves a full rest.

Nice looking backline you've got there, Nematode. My only caveat is that we'll need a backline with some proper endurance - it's forecast to be 21ºc at kickoff time in Treviso. Lovely running rugby, I hope!

Nematode wrote:Also think Harley deserves a full rest.

He doesn't rest.

reallybored wrote:

Nematode wrote:Also think Harley deserves a full rest.

He doesn't rest.

...he waits...

funnyExiledScot wrote:Surely a try bonus points for Glasgow coming up.

I'd keep Hogg at 15 - he is really coming into a great patch of form and I'd love to see that run through the AIs. I'd also bring back the two mad Fijians - Treviso will not have the structure and defensive discipline to handle the pace and offloads.

Hogg took his two tries well last Friday but the real work was done by others, especially by the two centres for his second try. As good as he is in attack he is a liability in defence, too many missed tackles and often found out of position. Glasgow have strength and depth in most positions and I don't see Hogg as the strongest full back at the club. Murchie for me is a far better all round player and when it comes to the crunch games he would be first on my team sheet.

Welcome to the boards, Jebus, if nobody has said that already.

It's going to be interesting to see how Cotter regards the 15 shirt. I think that there's a case to be made for Murchie, Hogg and Tonks (not Cuthbert). Hogg is more of a flair player and he does offer a long range kicking option so we'll see if Cotter values the razzle dazzle more than Murchie's solidity.

I am a fan of the Andy Irvine school of counterattacking play and I think that whatever Hogg loses in terms of being a petulent little wum monkey, he gains by actually being a creative strike runner. And dear god, Scotland need that desperately.

I think we should be aiming for a back 3 out of Maitland Seymour Visser and Hogg whenever we get the chance. We spent over a decade (probably more) crying out for finishers of their ability and now they all come along at once we have to play them.
On form at the moment, I would leave out Maitland but he will hopefully get some games in the next month to lead into the AIs.

If Maitland is fit and he did play in the A game the other week, we should probably see him this weekend.

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:who does someone come over from playing Super Rugby and be so out of shape?

WP Nel was a real fat boy when he came over from the Cheetahs.  South African props definitely aren't the finely tuned athletes that you get in Europe like John Welsh and Matt Stevens!

Jon Welsh might not look like an athlete, but unlike de Klerk he can play more than 2 phases of play without having to gasp for air.

BigGee wrote:If Maitland is fit and he did play in the A game the other week, we should probably see him this weekend.

He played in the A game and then picked up an injury, not sure how serious.

Maitland scored a belter of a try in the A game - as Dot says, it sounds like he's not 100% so why risk him with riflemen like DTH and Seymour available.

George Carlin wrote:Welcome to the boards, Jebus, if nobody has said that already.

It's going to be interesting to see how Cotter regards the 15 shirt. I think that there's a case to be made for Murchie, Hogg and Tonks (not Cuthbert). Hogg is more of a flair player and he does offer a long range kicking option so we'll see if Cotter values the razzle dazzle more than Murchie's solidity.

I am a fan of the Andy Irvine school of counterattacking play and I think that whatever Hogg loses in terms of being a petulent little wum monkey, he gains by actually being a creative strike runner. And dear god, Scotland need that desperately.

+1

Scotland have being solid yet unspectacular in the backline for a long while now. Peter Murchie is a perfectly decent club player with a low error count. Stuart Hogg has the potential to become one of the great Scotland full backs and return in a Lions jersey in 2017. By all accounts he's a complete merchant banker, but when he puts his foot on the gas running from deep then things happen. I'd nail that Scotland 15 jersey to his back for the AIs, 6 Nations and the World Cup and instruct him to go for it and attack. With support from Visser, Maitland, Seymour, Bennett, Scott and Dunbar we may even cross the try line a few times at the next World Cup. Imagine that.

Absolutely agree on Hogg V Murchie. Harsh on Murchie but I think Hogg's got to start for Scotland, so he therefore needs to start for Glagsow more often than not.

Hogg's boot is a massive bonus too.

funnyExiledScot wrote: but when he puts his foot on the gas running from deep then things happen.

Likewise, when he puts the shoulder into the opposing fly-half, things tend to happen also...

I see Jones, Eadie and Hughes are all going off to play sevens in Oz. Obviously deemed surplus to requirements for a while. If that is the case then good to see them getting some game time in this format. Probably this mix and match format is the way to go with the sevens squad and will hopefully keep us competitive.

Manky-Flanker wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote: but when he puts his foot on the gas running from deep then things happen.

Likewise, when he puts the shoulder into the opposing fly-half, things tend to happen also...

Very true. I'm just not prepared to ignore the talent for solid and unspectacular. Murchie, Cuthbert, Tonks et al will not win you games.

BigGee wrote:I see Jones, Eadie and Hughes are all going off to play sevens in Oz. Obviously deemed surplus to requirements for a while. If that is the case then good to see them getting some game time in this format. Probably this mix and match format is the way to go with the sevens squad and will hopefully keep us competitive.

Interestingly, it has just been announced on Twitter that Eddie has now been removed from the 7s squad and replaced by Gregor Young. I'd assume that means Eddie will be taking the 6 shirt for Glasgow, with Harley given a much-deserved rest.

IanBru wrote:

BigGee wrote:I see Jones, Eadie and Hughes are all going off to play sevens in Oz. Obviously deemed surplus to requirements for a while. If that is the case then good to see them getting some game time in this format. Probably this mix and match format is the way to go with the sevens squad and will hopefully keep us competitive.

Interestingly, it has just been announced on Twitter that Eddie has now been removed from the 7s squad and replaced by Gregor Young. I'd assume that means Eddie will be taking the 6 shirt for Glasgow, with Harley given a much-deserved rest.

I read it that either someone has picked up a fresh injury or that players they expected to be back they are now not so sure about.

Most of the rests are planned weeks in advance.

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:

IanBru wrote:

BigGee wrote:I see Jones, Eadie and Hughes are all going off to play sevens in Oz. Obviously deemed surplus to requirements for a while. If that is the case then good to see them getting some game time in this format. Probably this mix and match format is the way to go with the sevens squad and will hopefully keep us competitive.

Interestingly, it has just been announced on Twitter that Eddie has now been removed from the 7s squad and replaced by Gregor Young. I'd assume that means Eddie will be taking the 6 shirt for Glasgow, with Harley given a much-deserved rest.

I read it that either someone has picked up a fresh injury or that players they expected to be back they are now not so sure about.

Most of the rests are planned weeks in advance.

Agreed. May be Strauss. If in doubt, we should have enough firepower for Treviso anyway, and he will be needed later.

Given that Sherlock is currently banned, I would think that we need all of our loose forwards available. Was magic to see Ashe play a full 80 last week - something that perhaps didn't receive the sort of credit it should have.

George Carlin wrote:Given that Sherlock is currently banned, I would think that we need all of our loose forwards available. Was magic to see Ashe play a full 80 last week - something that perhaps didn't receive the sort of credit it should have.

I think he will be back for this one, he only had a one week ban, which kind of suggests the sending off was a bit of a joke in the first place!

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:

BigGee wrote:If Maitland is fit and he did play in the A game the other week, we should probably see him this weekend.

He played in the A game and then picked up an injury, not sure how serious.

Interview with him in the Scotsman and he said it was just a dead leg - fit for this week.

BigGee wrote:

George Carlin wrote:Given that Sherlock is currently banned, I would think that we need all of our loose forwards available. Was magic to see Ashe play a full 80 last week - something that perhaps didn't receive the sort of credit it should have.

I think he will be back for this one, he only had a one week ban, which kind of suggests the sending off was a bit of a joke in the first place!

Sorry yes - the ban was for the Connacht game.

Here's an unexpected turn up. Have you noticed how quiet the Warriors' threads are now? Is it...
(A) the dynamic duo's self-imposed purdah has taken the joi de vivre out of it for the rest of us?
or
(B) Toonie has become all too predictable; pick an unexpected XV, play game, win game. What is there for us to debate, analyse and generally obsess over? You have to envy those MFL groupies: they get to be all OCD over how many points they'll get skelped by this week, every week.

Team announced today. Mailtand and Hall are playing for Ayr this weekend and Murchie is playing club Rugby, so Hogg looks like continuing at FB.

Strange on Maitland - I thought this would have been a good game to bring him back into the team.

There's this game then Ulster away for Glasgow, so I suspect Toony is starting to form his strongest squad over the next few weeks, probably resting a few key players for this game.

jimbopip wrote: You have to envy those MFL groupies: they get to be all OCD over how many points they'll get skelped by this week, every week.

Want to swap?

I guess with the wing options we have there is no need to rush him back, he obviously feels he needs a full run out first. It is good as well that they are not taking the Treviso game to lightly either, they have all got to be won and this should be a five pointer as well.

I see Strauss wife had a baby this week as well. I am sure he won't be playing even if he is fit. A break now won't do him any harm over the course of a season in any case. It will be good to see Ashe have another start as well.

Maitland, Hall, Bryce, Murchie and Vernon all playing club rugby this weekend, according to the Warriors website.

Allan
MacArthur
de Klerk
Ryder
Kellock
Eddie
Holmes
Strauss

Mata
Weir
van der Merwe
Horne
Lamont (at 13)
Seymour
Hogg

Intersting bench -

Brown
Jerry
Zander Fagerson
Naka
Fusaro
Ali Price
Russell
Downey

5 points

Glasgow Warriors team to play Benetton Treviso:  

15. Stuart Hogg
14. Tommy Seymour
13. Sean Lamont
12. Peter Horne
11. DTH van der Merwe
10. Duncan Weir
9. Niko Matawalu

1. Alex Allan
2. Pat MacArthur
3. Rossouw de Klerk
4. Tom Ryder
5. Al Kellock (Captain)
6. James Eddie
7. Tyrone Holmes
8. Josh Strauss

Replacements

16. Fraser Brown
17. Jerry Yanuyanutawa
18. Zander Fagerson
19. Leone Nakarawa
20. Chris Fusaro
21. Ali Price
22. Finn Russell
23. James Downey

Definitely a second-string pack, which is always a potential worry against Treviso, but with Big Al inspecting rucks and taking names we should have them in the lineout.

I'm pretty excited with the backs - lots of pace and ability, and definite potential to cut some holes in the Treviso midfield. The only question mark is Schlong at 13 - he lacks the pace to cut outside his opposite number and he tends to gobble up the ball more than a classic centre should. I'd be happier with him on the wing.

The big news is Zander Fagerson on the bench. We all have to start somewhere, so it might as well be here - that being said, the kid is just 18 and was used in the 'A' match to see what happened as much as anything else.

Still, I'm pretty happy, and it certainly shows the depth we've got.

Almost a 2nd and in some places 3rd choice pack (bar Strauss). Not as confident as I was about this game before the teams were announced!

Ashe, Gray and Dunbar injured as well as the long term guys.

Benetton Treviso team to play Glasgow Warriors:

15 Jayden Hayward
14 Angelo Esposito
13 Michele Campagnaro
12 Luca Morisi
11 Ludovico Nitoglia
10 Joe Carlisle
9 Edoardo Gori

8 Mat Luamanu
7 Marco Lazzaroni
6 Simone Favaro
5 Marco Fuser
4 Antonio Pavanello (capitano)
3 Rupert Harden
2 Davide Giazzon
1 Matteo Muccignat

Replacements:
16 Giovanni Maistri
17 Matteo Zanusso
18 Romulo Acosta
19 Francesco Minto
20 Leo Auva'a
21 Marco Barbini
22 Sam Christie
23 Alberto Lucchese

I'm more confident now than i was earlier in the week. the line out should be fine with Kellock playing and the starting front row is good enough in the scrum.

I would prefer Schlong on the wing as well but if he plays centre it helps to have Horne at 12. He has the brain to avoid him if there is space out wide or get him running at the defence if there isn't.

That back line is probably only Dunbar away from our best so it should be plenty to score tries against Treviso.

Looking forward to seeing Fagerson and Price get some game time.

Weegie Wizard wrote:I'm more confident now than i was earlier in the week. the line out should be fine with Kellock playing and the starting front row is good enough in the scrum.

I would prefer Schlong on the wing as well but if he plays centre it helps to have Horne at 12. He has the brain to avoid him if there is space out wide or get him running at the defence if there isn't.

That back line is probably only Dunbar away from our best so it should be plenty to score tries against Treviso.

Looking forward to seeing Fagerson and Price get some game time.

Scrum is going to be interesting, Allan has done well, but de Klerk has been average (at best). With his finesses issues we should Fagerson getting a decent run. Can't be many who have played top level rugby as an 18 year old TH.