Zebre Rugby travel to Galway boosted with two permit players

The fixture is scheduled on the last weekend of the November test matches and will see the Italian side travelling to Ireland without thirteen international players capped by Italy head coach Jacques Brunel for the test matches that will ends Saturday with the Azzurri hosting the Springboks in Padua.

After the defeat of Llanelli at the beginning of November, the Italy's northwest franchise will be in search of first win away from the home crowd of the XXV Aprile Stadium in Parma. For the occasion, the coaching staff called up two permit players coming from the main italian league Eccellenza: both will sit on the bench ready to take the Sportsground field.

The two players are Rugby Viadana hooker Santamaria -former Aironi player with 29 caps in the tournament- and the Rugby Calvisano back rower Steyn, who gained his first appereance in the Guinness PRO12 with Zebre Rugby shirt last winter during the Six Nation window against the Blues.

The two week break was useful to recover some of the players stopped by injuries: first official appereance with the black & white jersey for winger Michele Visentin, who has fully recovered the injury suffered during the first summer friendly. For the Treviso area born player it will be his overall debut in the Guinness PRO12.

Here's Zebre line-up for Friday 21 November 2014 at the Sportsground in Galway (IRELAND) for the 8th round of the GUINNESS PRO12 against Connacht. Kick off at 7.35 pm local time :

15 Hendrik Daniller
14 David Odiete*
13 Giulio Bisegni
12 Matteo Pratichetti
11 Michele Visentin*
10 Edoardo Padovani*
9 Brendon Leonard

8 Andries Van Schalkwyk
7 Filippo Cristiano
6 Mauro Bergamasco (cap)
5 Valerio Bernabò
4 Andries Ferreira
3 Luca Redolfini
2 Oliviero Fabiani
1 Andrea De Marchi

Replacements :
16 Roberto Santamaria
17 Andrea Lovotti
18 Luciano Leibson
19 Jacopo Sarto
20 Braam Steyn
21 Alberto Chillon*
22 Dion Berryman
23 Mirco Bergamasco

Coach. Andrea CAVINATO

Not available for selection due to injury: Tommaso D'Apice*, Filippo Ferrarini*, Tommaso Iannone*, Giovanbattista Venditti*.

* Former member of the Italian Rugby Union U20 academy "Ivan Francescato".

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales Rugby Union), first overall direction in the Guinness PRO12 and with Zebre Rugby.

Assistant Referees: Andy Brace e Olly Hodges (Both Irish Rugby Football Union)

TMO: Jude Quinn (Irish Rugby Football Union)Live tv coverage on Nuvolari TV in Italy. Live score text coverage on www.pro12rugby.com