Treviso v Aironi: Teams

Friday will see the first-ever Magners League Italian derby game as Treviso host Aironi at Stadio Monigo.

Treviso head coach Franco Smith has recalled Brendan Williams at full back, while Ludovico Nitoglia and former Viadana player Michele Sepe line up on the wings.

Italians Alberto Sgarbi and Ezio Galon will form form the centre partnership, while Tobias Botes and Kristopher Burton will play as scrum half and fly-half respectively.

The front row will be formed entirely by Argentinean born players - Augusto Allori, Franco Sbaraglini and Pedro Di Santo.

Laharrague fit for Aironi

Meanwhile, Aironi will be aiming for only their second-ever victory. The starting XV is similar to the one secured the franchise their maiden triumph against Heineken Cup runners-up Biarritz two weeks ago.

Full-back Julien Laharrague has fully recovered from the hit which forced the French international to miss the final minutes of the Biarritz clash last week.

Giulio Toniolatti and Matteo Pratichetti will play on the wings while Gabriel Pizarro and Rodd Penney will be the midfield combination.

Nick Williams is back at number eight. Marco Bortolami will partner his captain Quintin Geldenhuys in the second row, while the other Italian international Carlo Del Fava is back from the injury he suffered during the Test match against Fiji and will start on the bench.

"Normally derby games are physical," stated Aironi Head Coach Rowland Phillips. "Teams are a little bit conservative, no one wants to make mistakes, players are familiar with each other and there's always a lot of emotion.

"It will be a match with high intensity. What we need is to focus on continuing to improve our performances, take control of the emotions and enjoy the challenge."

"Treviso had a great start in the League and I'm sure they feel disappointed about their last results and will look to this game to be back on track. We know it's a great challenge and all the Aironi players are very excited about this game."

Treviso: 15 Brendan Williams, 14 Michele Sepe, 13 Ezio Galon, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Tobias Botes, 8 Paul Derbyshire, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Marco Filippucci, 5 Corniel Van Zyl, 4 Antonio Pavanello (c), 3 Pedro Di Santo, 2 Franco Sbaraglini, 1 Augusto Allori.
Replacements: 16 Diego Vidal, 17 Lorenzo Cittadini, 18 Ignacio Fernandez Rouyet, 19 Valerio Bernabò, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Benjamin De Jager, 22 Edoardo Gori, 23 Tommaso Benvenuti.

Aironi: 15 Julien Laharrague, 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Rodd Penney, 12 Gabriel Pizarro, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 James Marshall, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys (captain), 4 Marco Bortolami, 3 Fabio Staibano, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements: 16 Roberto Santamaria, 17 Luca Redolfini, 18 Salvatore Perugini, 19 Carlo Del Fava, 20 Gareth Krause, 21 Pablo Canavosio, 22 Riccardo Bocchino, 23 Paolo Buso.