Cherif Traorè will start the “Christmas” derby between Benetton and Zebre, scheduled for Saturday 24 December at 1.30 pm at the Monigo stadium. In fact, Coach Marco Bortolami chose him among the props – he will wear the number 1 shirt – in the XV who will start from the first minute.
The case of the rotten banana as a Christmas present – the player has declared that he has forgiven the comrade who committed the gesture – has not yet closed. Today, Friday, contact between Traorè, his partner Ivan Nemer (alleged author) and the Prosecutor of Federugby – who has opened a file – in the person of Fabio Pennisi, remotely. Benetton Rugby has suspended the member until full light is shed on the matter.
But in the meantime we need pylons, so Traorè is there. It will certainly be a special match, for him as well as for his team-mates: the right mind will be needed, as well as physical strength. It’s too important a match – in every sense – for Benetton Rugby.
The second leg will be played in a week at Lanfranchi. Both Italian formations are part of the same Italian-Scottish shield and on these occasions the points up for grabs are worth double, with the players of both franchises wanting to show off from a national perspective. The Lions, after nine rounds and half the championship, have 19 points and occupy tenth place in the standings together with Cell C Sharks and Connacht, with four successes and five setbacks collected. The Parma players are last with 4 points collected, the result of two try bonus points and two defensive bonus points, and are looking for their first victory of the season in the league.
The formation of the Lions (caps in brackets): 15 Rhyno Smith (23) 14 Onisi Ratave (3) 13 Ignacio Brex (63) 12 Joaquin Riera (39) 11 Mattia Bellini (8) 10 Tomas Albornoz (22) 9 Alessandro Garbisi (19) 8 Lorenzo Cannone (19) 7 Michele Lamaro (c) (45) 6 Giovanni Pettinelli (65) 5 Niccolò Cannone (51) 4 Marco Lazzaroni (123) 3 Simone Ferrari (88) 2 Giacomo Nicotera (21) 1 Cherif Traore (81).
Subs: 16 Siua Maile (2), 17 Federico Zani (68), 18 Tiziano Pasquali (107), 19 Riccardo Favretto (18), 20 Manuel Zuliani (38), 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (6), 22 Jacob Umaga (4), 23 Marco Zanon (57). Head Coach: Marco Bortolami.
Out: Giacomo Da Re, Corniel Els, Thomas Gallo, Toa Halafihi, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Leonardo Marin, Matteo Minozzi, Ivan Nemer (suspended), Scott Scrafton, Nahuel Tetaz, Carl Wegner.