37
ULSTER
RUGBY
The daily workload and the trust
in new Head Coach, Umberto
Casellato’s style of rugby have
pushed the Italian Lions away from
the misery of 2014.
Treviso have turned the corner and
just a few weeks ago nobody would
have believed that could happen.
The critics have disappeared from
the Monigo stands, evaporated
like smoke after a Zebre two-game
sweep in the double derby and a
last-gasp win against Guinness
PRO12 leaders Ospreys in Europe.
In fact, what Treviso needed was
just patience…
“We needed time,” said Treviso
captain Antonio Pavanello. “Now
morale has gone up and our
self-belief too. The win against the
Ospreys helped us a lot because
it gave us evidence that we are
heading in the right direction and
that our work is paying dividends.”
Against the Welsh side, Benetton
showed some much-needed
improvements in the set piece, an
area where Treviso struggled in the
first part of the season.
“Definitely gaining some
consistency at the scrum has
been crucial for our recent run of
form,” admitted Pavanello. “Last
year every time we went down for
a scrum we were being penalised
with the consequence that we
would concede points or at least we
would be pushed back in our half.
Now we are far less under pressure
and that helps a lot with giving us
pace in attack.”
Treviso’s season turned around
against Zebre:
“Yes, those two wins gave us
confidence because we were
looking to grab at least one win
since the beginning of the season
but we kept losing. Winning both
the derbies helped a lot mentally,”
added the skipper.
Benetton have won two of their
three home games since the New
Year, only losing by a four-point
margin against Ulster on January
11th, and that speaks volumes for
the importance of playing in front
of your own fans in the Guinness
PRO12.
“Well, you know, when you play at
home you get that extra confidence
that helps you compete against
anyone in this league,” said the
23-cap man.
“In the next nine games we will play
five times in Monigo and that would
be a great opportunity for us to grab
some more wins and increase our
position in the standings.”
Treviso will face Ulster again tonight,
then they will fly back home to take
on Cardiff Blues before moving to
Galway to challenge Connacht.
Then Casellato’s men will have
to meet with Edinburgh and the
Dragons in Stadio Monigo…
“We clearly can win some more
games,” said Pavanello. “Week after
week we are clicking together more
and more and that I am sure that
will result in more tries.”
Three wins in the last five games has reshaped
Benetton Treviso’s season…
TONIGHT’S
OPPOSITION
BenettonRugby
BenettonRugby
CLUB STATS
//Location
Treviso, Italy
//Founded
1932
//Ground
Stadio Comunale di Monigo
//Capacity
6,700
//Last Game
Zebre (H) 17-15 (W)
Saturday 3rd Jan 2015 at 15.00
//Next Game
Cardiff Blues (H)
Sunday 1st Mar 2015 at 17:15
//Recent Form
L L W W L
STAFF
// Head Coach
Umberto Casellato
//Captain
Antonio Pavanello
CONTACT
Centro Sportivo “La Ghirada”
Strada di Nascimben, 1/b
31100
Treviso
Tel
+39 0422 324 238
Fax
+39 0422 324 326
TICKET OFFICE
Tel
+39422/324.238
www.benettonrugby.it