Connacht v Zebre, The Sportsground, 1pm – Sky Sports
After the Mitch Lam idea was dismissed by the IRFU, Pat Lam passes the 10 jersey to John Cooney. This former Gonzaga College and Lansdowne FC scrumhalf stepped into the pivot role during last week’s 29-7 defeat in Swansea and has fellow Leinster exile, Craig Ronaldson, the latest to return from a cram-packed sick bay, standing at 12 but with plenty of outhalf experience.
One-way traffic is promised so Ronaldson will be kicking plenty of conversions as the abysmal Zebre look to make it five Champions Cup defeats from five or 17 from 17 since their feeble attempt to represent Italian rugby commenced in 2012.
It might be over soon. On Tuesday Zebre president Stefano Pagliarini made a plea for local sponsorship, saying the club could go under by February if they don’t receive a cash injection of €1 million.
Injury crisis
Connacht's injury crisis was somewhat alleviated this week by the arrival of Irish nomads – Steve Crosbie, Peter McCabe and Tom Farrell – with 23-year-old Farrell's switch from Bedford Blues the only European qualified option. The former Castleknock College and the Leinster Academy graduate is on the bench.
Leinster ran in 10 tries on these Italians last Friday. Connacht could do with a similar return as despite being equal on 13 points with Wasps and Toulouse, where they travel next weekend, their 15 tries see them trail the English by five and the French by two in that vital regard.
CONNACHT: T O'Halloran; N Adeolokun, R Parata, C Ronaldson, M Healy; J Cooney, K Marmion; D Buckley, T McCartney, F Bealham; L Stevenson, J Cannon; S O'Brien, E McKeon, J Muldoon (capt). Replacements: D Heffernan, JP Cooney, J Andress J Connolly, N Dawai, C Blade, T Farrell, D Poolman.
ZEBRE: K Baker; L Greeff, E Padovani, M Bellini, G Palazzani; C Canna, M Violi; A Lovotti, C Festuccia, P Ceccarelli; G Koegelenberg, V Bernabo; M Mbanda, J Meyer, F Ruzza. Replacements: O Fabiani, A de Marchi, D Chistolini, J Furno, G Biagi, C Engelbrecht, D Minnie, S Bordoli.
Referee: Tom Foley (England).
Betting: Connacht 10/11 (handicap -34 points).
Verdict: Connacht with bonus point.
