Benetton will host DHL Western Province tomorrow @ 14h00 in Treviso, Italy in the first round of the United Rugby Championship.
Taking into account the challenges both teams will face, it will be a very difficult match to predict a winner. Both coaches said they expect a massive forwards battle to be the highlight of the match which could just favour the visiting team.
If the DHL Stormers can provide the quality ball to their backline they could just take the Benetton defence apart on an expected firm and fast pitch.
Benetton shocked the South African rugby public when they smashed the Bulls in the final of the Rainbow Cup, completing a massive turnaround for the side after they lost every PRO14 game in the regular season.
DHL Western Province had a "sub-standard" performance in the preceding Currie Cup competition, however, head coach John Dobson always said that their main objective was their preparation for the United Rugby Championship.
It will be the first match for the new Benetton head coach Marco Bortolami who will be looking to build on Benetton’s stunning Rainbow Cup triumph having taken over from Kieran Crowley.
After beating the Vodacom Bulls in Treviso, Benetton has been unbeaten at home since losing to Cardiff in March and have lost just one of their eight previous matches against South African opposition.
The loss of coach Keiran Crowley to the Italian National team and stalwarts Jayden Hayward and Paolo Garbisi over the summer has been a setback for the side and they will be under pressure to repeat their superb form in the Rainbow Cup.
Seven players will make their debut for Benetton including South Africans Andries Coetzee and lock Carl Wegner. Former Stormers halfback Dewaldt Duvenage captains the side.
Fifteen players are also currently not available for the Italians making their first few matches "risky". South Africans Franco Smith jr and Braam Steyn is part of this group.
Benetton's Gianmarco Lucchesi said“It will certainly be a very physical and fast match, therefore very intense. It will be crucial to be able to be physical and at the same time maintain a high intensity to be able to face them. They are big, fast and as already said they will focus a lot on physicality.”
Manie Libbok who will make his debut at flyhalf for DHL Stormers will link up with scrumhalf Paul de Wet, while Stefan Ungerer is also set to make his DHL Stormers debut from the replacements bench when he comes on for De Wet in the second half.
Rikus Pretorius and Ruhan Nel are in midfield, with Warrick Gelant, Sergeal Petersen and Edwill van der Merwe forming a dangerous back three.
In the forward pack Springbok hooker Scarra Ntubeni will have Leon Lyons and Neethling Fouche on either side of him, with Ernst van Rhyn and Salmaan Moerat in the second row.
Deon Fourie and Willie Engelbrecht are on the flanks, with Evan Roos starting at No.8 and Nama Xaba set to make an impact from the replacements bench.
Ntubeni, Moerat, Roos and Gelant are all making their return from injuries which saw them miss the final stages of the Carling Currie Cup.
DHL Stormers Head Coach John Dobson said that his team are determined to get their campaign off to a positive start.
“We know this will be a challenging tour but it is something we as a group are embracing as we embark on a new journey in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship."
“We have brought some quality players into the mix and they are all keen to make their mark in the DHL Stormers jersey.”
"We have named a strong team for what we know will be a big challenge to start this exciting new era.
"It has been a great week together here in Treviso and we are looking forward to seeing what these combinations can do," he said.
Benetton: 15 Andries Coetzee*, 14 Ratuva Tavuyara (45), 13 Marco Zanon (41), 12 Joaquin Riera (15), 11 Monty Ioane (68), 10 Tomas Albornoz*, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage (c) (56), 8 Riccardo Favretto (15), 7 Michele Lamaro (21), 6 Manuel Zuliani (18), 5 Carl Wegner*, 4 Niccolò Cannone (29), 3 Tiziano Pasquali (83), 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi (15), 1 Nahuel Chaparro*. Replacements: 16 Giacomo Nicotera (2), 17 Federico Zani (52), 18 Ivan Nemer (16), 19 Federico Ruzza (71), 20 Lorenzo Cannone*, 21 Callum Braley (13), 22 Leonardo Marin*, 23 Tommaso Menoncello (2).
DHL Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Salmaan Moerat, 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Leon Lyons. Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Stefan Ungerer, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Juan de Jongh.