HEINEKEN CUP MUNSTER v TREVISO: WHEN TONY McGahan finalises his Munster squad today for their match against Benetton Treviso he will do so in the knowledge that the Italian side have taken a few notable scalps in the Heineken Cup over the last 10 years.
He will also do so without hooker Jerry Flannery, who will miss the match after injuring his calf muscle in training yesterday which will keep him out for at least four weeks. It is expected that Denis Fogarty will come into the frontrow.
After causing the upset of the last round, when they defeated French champions Perpignan, Treviso arrive in Thomond Park with nine wins from 10 years in the competition stretching back to the 1998-99 season, when they defeated Welsh regional side Pontypridd 22-13 away and 33-19 at home.
Since that match they have not only conquered Perpignan but Premiership sides Harlequins and London Wasps and Bourgoin and Newport Gwent Dragons.
The Dragons suffered their Heineken Cup heartbreak in the 2007-08 season as Marius Goosen’s last-gasp penalty ended their European adventure.
The outhalf killed off the Dragons’ faint hopes of qualification from the pool by slotting home a 40-metre goal with the last kick of the game after Joe Bearman conceded a penalty in stoppage time.
Last week was a similar story as South African-born Goosen again stepped up to land a late penalty for 9-8 as Treviso stuck in the game until the break came their way.
“It was a bit unexpected,” says Treviso’s New Zealand number eight Dion Kingi. “The boys played hard and didn’t give up. We kept the faith that we could win the match. We kept close and invested everything at the end. The boys are happy.”
Kingi has been with the Italian side for five seasons and will arrive in Thomond Park for the first time in his career. Another first will be meeting record try scoring All Black and compatriot, Doug Howlett. But one win against a French side, who are often said to be weak away from home, is a completely different proposition to facing a Munster team in Thomond Park, desperate for a win having lost their opening match.
“Munster have a lot of class players. You can’t take one man. They are all good,” says Kingi. “But you have to tackle all of them if you are looking to get a result. It will be great for me to play against a player like Doug but we know that it’s going to be a tough task. We need all of our boys to turn up like they did last week.
“It will be a full crowd in Thomond Park. We are not used to crowds like that so it will be a bit of new experience.”
One of Treviso’s best outings was when they defeated Wasps 32-17 in the 2000-01 season. Current manager Franco Properzi played at tighthead prop that day against former England and Leinster signing Will Green so he knows what is expected.
But the Italian side’s away form has been uneven, to put it mildly. Away from Treviso they have won only four times since beating Pontypridd in 1998-99.
Realism bites for this meeting. But Kingi hopes his side will not return to Italy empty-handed. The New Zealander wasn’t involved but the last time the team went to Thomond Park they took a 51-0 beating.
“We will expect physical aggression from Munster,” he says. “If we can play for a whole 80 minutes and stay close, we will do well to maybe take a point away from the game.”
