The Stakes WITH SIX REGULAR-SEASON games remaining, it might feel extreme to bill this as a must-win fixture for Connacht, particularly with only nine points separating Ospreys in 11th place and Munster in fourth.
Connacht’s last visit to the Comunale became disastrous: they were eventually hosed down 41-19 by the Italians in last season’s Challenge Cup round of 16. But their league form against Benetton in recent years has been excellent, with the western province winning the sides’ five most recent bouts — including a couple of squeakers on Italian soil during the pandemic.
But Bortolami is now overseeing at club level the next wave of Italian rugby stars — and there are frankly more of them in 2024 than there ever has been before. Inside centre Tommaso Menoncello, 21, was shortlisted for Six Nations player of the tournament. His partner in crime, the 31-year-old Ignacio Brex, should have not only been nominated alongside him but probably won the award such were his exhilarating performances throughout the championship.
Plainly and simply, the loss of top try-scorer Caolin Blade at scrum-half reduces Connacht’s chances of winning this game. He’s replaced by Ulster loanee Michael McDonald, who has started just one game all season and whose six cameo appearances otherwise have amounted to 79 minutes. Four of Wilkins’ seven changes to his starting team come in the forwards, where loosehead Jordan Duggan, hooker Dave Heffernan, openside Shamus Hurley-Langton and number eight Paul Boyle are named to start.
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