For this meeting that precedes two weekends of stop of the competition, the Italian North-West franchise will face the fourth consecutive opponent part of the Irish Rugby Football Union.
Ulster currently occupies the fourth position in the standings with nine wins and seven defeats, at full speed in a playoff spot fight.
Coach Kiss' team is back from two consecutive defeats at home against the Scarlets and in Cardiff last weekend, while Zebre comes from fourth consecutive losses in the Guinness PRO12.
In the previous six encounters Zebre beat Ulster only once in the last match between the two teams played in Parma in September 2014. In the Kingspan Stadium, games between the Ulstermen and Zebre, the Italian side grabbed a point in the 2013/14 season challenge ended at 13-6.
Zebre will take the third Irish away game of the season without 21 players including 13 injured and 8 rested, stopped by Italian national team that will face Ireland in Dublin next March 12nd.
Compared to the last game, Zebre Rugby approach the Belfast game without 4 players injured during the Leinster challenge like prop Postiglioni, flanker Sarto and the two centres Pratichetti and Boni.
The coaching staff can, however, count on the return of three internationals selected by Italy for the 2016 RBS 6 Nations: centre Bisegni, fly-half Padovani and prop Chistolini and on the contribution of three permit players selected over the main Italian league Eccellenza clubs: center Castello (Rugby Calvisano), scrum-half Semenzato (Mogliano Rugby) and the Irish fly-half McKinley (Rugby Viadana 1970).
Here's Zebre line-up for Friday March 4th match at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast (Northern Ireland) for the 17th round of the Guinness PRO12 against Ulster. Kick off at 7.35 pm local time :
15 Mils Muliaina
14 Giulio Toniolatti
13 Giulio Bisegni
12 Tommaso Castello*
11 Kayle Van Zyl
10 Edoardo Padovani*
9 Fabio Semenzato
8 Federico Ruzza*
7 Johan Meyer
6 Emiliano Caffini*
5 Marco Bortolami (cap)
4 Quintin Geldenhuys
3 Dario Chistolini
2 Oliviero Fabiani
1 Andrea De Marchi
Replacements :
16 Emiliano Coria
17 Guillermo Roan
18 Pietro Ceccarelli
19 Gideon Koegelenberg
20 Filippo Cristiano
21 Luke Burgess
22 Ian McKinley
23 Ulrich Beyers
Coach. Gianluca Guidi
*Former member of the Italian Rugby Union academy "Ivan Francescato"
Not available for selection due to injury: Dion Berryman, George Biagi, Tommaso Boni*, Jean Cook, Tommaso D'Apice*, Paul Derbyshire, Filippo Ferrarini*, Andrea Manici*, Bruno Postiglioni, Matteo Pratichetti, Jacopo Sarto, Marcello Violi*, Michele Visentin*
Referee: George Clancy (Irish Rugby Football Union)
Assistant Referees: Gary Conway e Paul Haycock (both Irish Rugby Football Union)
TMO: Kevin Beggs (Irish Rugby Football Union)
Delayed tv coverage in Italy on RaiSport 1 at 11pm. Live text coverage of the game on www.pro12rugby.com
Guinness PRO12 Zebre News
63x46.png){kind=logo}