Ulster Rugby vs Treviso

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CASELLATO PREDICTS EXCITING
FUTURE FOR GUINNESS PRO12
The presence of the Rugby World
Cup in the first part of the calendar
and the progress made during the
last campaign, which ended with
Glasgow Warriors’ historic triumph,
will create the perfect base from
which to build the future of the
competition.
“I think we are going to live through
a pretty interesting season,” reveals
Casellato. “Every club involved in
the Guinness PRO12 has been
vigorously active in the summer
due to the World Cup, and the fact
that they knew they would play an
important part of the season without
their best players.
“Everybody has looked at bringing in
quality replacements in time for the
beginning of the season, and not to
lose too many points in the play-off
race in the first couple of months.
“That’s basically why every team is
now much more competitive than a
year ago - larger squads with better
internal competition.
“Having said that, that doesn’t
necessarily mean that every team
will play better and will improve as
there are different aspects to be
considered when clubs introduce
new faces.
“First it’s not guaranteed that a
player will contribute to his new
club in the same way he did at the
previous one and there are also
frequently troubles from the players
in adapting to the rugby adopted in a
different competition.
“So it will be pretty interesting to
see how each set of coaches will
implement the new signings and
how they will integrate the new
players into the set-up.
As said before, the Rugby World Cup
will play a crucial role this season.
“Yes, a lot will depend on the Rugby
World Cup pool stage,” explained
Casellato. “If, say, Scotland, don’t
reach the quarter-finals their players
will be able to contribute immediately
to the Warriors’ title defence.
“But in general, the way the clubs
prepared in the pre-season will
influence their season, that’s a pretty
simple rule, and this year that is
directly connected to the national
teams’ preparation.
“So it will be really interesting to see
how the squads will progress to the
second half of the campaign.”
Increasing standards in the PRO12
has been widely recognised by the
rugby community and Casellato
is one of those who believe the
competition is growing at an
impressive pace.
“I’m not the only one that says
the tournament is growing in
competence and competitiveness,”
explained Casellato.
“There have been results that has
underlined its progress: Leinster,
Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh’s
sucess in the recent European
competitions speak volumes on
how the PRO12 has quickly become
a force in Northern Hemisphere
rugby.”
This year will be an important one
for Italian rugby, as fans are asking
both Benetton Treviso and Zebre
Rugby, historically at the bottom of
the standings, to accelerate in the
learning curve and start contributing
to the competition’s global growth.
According to Benetton Treviso coach, Umberto Casellato,
European fans are in for another intriguing PRO12 season,
writes Enrico Borra.
CLUB STATS
//Location
Treviso, Italy
//Founded
1932
//Ground
Stadio Comunale di Monigo
//Capacity
6,700
//Last Game
Edinburgh (H) 24-27 (L)
Saturday 3rd Jan 2015 at 15.00
//Next Game
Ospreys (H)
Saturday 17th Oct 2015 at 14:30
//Recent Form
L L L L 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
Email
TICKET OFFICE
Tel +39422/324.238
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