Preview: Zebre v Connacht

Connacht head coach Pat Lam has made five changes to his starting XV for the rearranged PRO12 clash against Zebre in Parma on Saturday.

With Irish internationals Tiernan O’Halloran and Kieran Marmion on a scheduled rest week, there are four enforced changes to the back-line as Connacht look to make it four wins from five in the PRO12.

Ireland Sevens player Josh Rowland comes in for his first Connacht start at full-back, having made his debut from the bench against Glasgow Warriors last weekend. John Cooney starts at scrum-half while Danie Poolman comes on to the right wing.

There is a new midfield partnership as Tom Farrell starts at outside centre with Bundee Aki shifting to number 12 this week.

Up front, there is just one change with Eoin McKeon replacing Jake Heenan, who struggled to shake off a minor shin injury picked up in the last round.

Ivan Soroka, Eoghan Masterson, Caolin Blade and Eoin Griffin are all additions to the bench with Griffin in line to make his first appearance since September 2016.

Ronan Loughney, Niyi Adeolokun, and JP Cooney all picked up minor injuries in training during the week that ruled them out of selection while Naulia Dawai did not travel as he awaits a Visa renewal.

Commenting on tomorrow’s clash, head coach Lam said: "We have had to make a few changes this week due to unfortunate niggles picked up in training. But we’re going over to Parma with a clear game plan. 

"We are fully focused on putting in a performance against Zebre that will get us the points on offer."

Meanwhile, Zebre can call upon seven Italian internationals who were rested for last Saturday's match against Munster: six of them as starters with only the full back Edoardo Padovani Padovani on the bench.

There are 10 Azzurri players in the starting line-up chosen by coach Victor Jimenez, six in the pack and four amongst the backs.

Compared to the Munster game seven days ago, there are seven changes chosen by the coaching staff of the Italian Northwest franchise.

Form: This original match on 17 September was abandoned at half time with Connacht leading 22-10. Zebre’s most recent victory was 19-14 over Edinburgh at Murrayfield on 28 October, whilst their most recent victory in Parma was against the Dragons in Round 22 last year. Connacht were beaten 35-24 in Glasgow in Round 18 to stop a run of four successive PRO12 victories. Connacht have won just twice on the road in the PRO12 this season, both in February, on trips to Cardiff Blues and Treviso. The two sides have met on fifteen previous occasions in all competitions with Connacht triumphant in each instance. Connacht have already been victorious in Parma this season, having beaten Zebre 52-7 in the second round of the European Champions Cup.

The teams:

Zebre:  15 Dion Berryman, 14 Kayle Van Zyl, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Lloyd Greeff, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Federico Ruzza, 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Joshua Furno, 5 George Biagi (c), 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Tommaso D'Apice, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements: 16 Sidney Tobias, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Valerio Bernabò, 20 Oliviero Fabiani, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Matteo Pratichetti, 23 Edoardo Padovani

Connacht: 15 Josh Rowland, 14 Danie Poolman, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Stacey Ili, 10 Jack Carty, 9 John Cooney, 8 John Muldoon (c), 7 Eoin McKeon, 6 Sean O’Brien, 5 Andrew Browne, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley 
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Ivan Soroka, 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy, 19 James Cannon, 20 Eoghan Masterson, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Eoin Griffin

Date: Saturday, April 1
Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
Kick-off: 15:30 local 14:30 (BST)
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Graeme Wells (Scotland), Emanuele Tomo (Italy)