Planet Rugby

Preview: Edinburgh v Treviso

04th May 2012 11:51

SKY_MOBILE Chris Paterson Edinburgh

Last game: Chris Paterson

Chris Paterson brings an end to his professional career on Saturday at Murrayfield in Edinburgh's last match of the PRO12 season, against Treviso.

The full-back has been picked to start against the Italian side with supporters handed the chance to acknowledge the contributions of the nation's record male cap holder and points' scorer before he hangs up his boots.

Paterson is one of six players named in the squad who will play their last game for the club on an evening that will double as an emotional farewell for a number of players.

The remaining five start the match on the bench and include the replacement front-row of Andrew Kelly, Kyle Traynor and Jack Gilding; back-row Alan MacDonald and stand-off Phil Godman, while the departing Mike Blair and Jim Thompson will miss the send-off due to injury (shoulder) and Scotland 7s duty respectively.

"I've always said that I want to go out playing the best rugby I possibly can and I'm ready to move on to an exciting future," said Paterson.

"My retirement is tinged with sadness but my overriding and lasting feelings are ones of happiness, enjoyment and fulfilment, having achieved far more than I ever thought I would and could have in 14 years of the job.

"I'm delighted to be involved in this game and, as always, have done my best in training and will do my best in the game.

"We've had a great season in Europe and have a chance on Saturday to remedy our league form and finish the season well, both for Edinburgh Rugby and me personally."

Meanwhile, Treviso will want to win their eighth seasonal victory - the fifth abroad - and hopefully overtake Connacht, who are up against Glasgow.

At present, Treviso are ninth with 36 points, just one point behind the team from Galway. Edinburgh have little to play for as they will finish eleventh in the RaboDirect PRO12 table.

Their only aim will be that of ending the season in the best way possible at Murrayfield.

In the backs, Franco Smith chooses to bring in Edoardo Gori on the wing, with Tommaso Iannone and Brendan Williams starting from the bench, thus creating an all-Italian XV.

Kris Burton and Fabio Semenzato are together in the half-backs.

As for the forwards, Robert Barbieri, Alessandro Zanni and Francesco Minto start in the back-row, while the injured Antonio Pavanello is replaced by Valerio Bernaḅ. Up front, Franco Sbaraglini is at hooker and Ignacio Fernandez Rouyet is starting as tighthead prop.

Form: Edinburgh Rugby have slipped to three straight defeats in all competitions, whilst at Murrayfield they have won their last two encounters. Edinburgh have never lost at home to an Italian opponent. Benetton Treviso's only win in 2012 was 33-32 at the Dragons in the RaboDirect PRO12 on 13 April. Treviso have won four away games this season, including victory against Glasgow at Firhill in round four. Treviso's only previous win over Edinburgh came in this equivalent fixture last season.

The teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Chris Paterson, 14 Tom Brown, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Greig Laidlaw (capt), 9 Chris Leck, 8 Roddy Grant, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 David Denton, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Kelly, 17 Kyle Traynor, 18 Jack Gilding, 19 Steven Turnbull, 20 Alan MacDonald, 21 Alex Black, 22 Harry Leonard, 23 Phil Godman.

Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Edoardo Gori, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Fabio Semenzato, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Corniel Van Zyl, 4 Valerio Bernaḅ, 3 Ignacio Fernandez Rouyet, 2 Franco Sbaraglini (capt), 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements: 16 Enrico Ceccato, 17 Matteo Muccignat, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Gonzalo Padṛ, 20 Marco Filippucci, 21 Simon Picone, 22 Tommaso Iannone, 23 Brendan Williams.

Date: Saturday, May 5
Kick-off: 19:30 BST
Venue: Murrayfield
Referee: Mark Patton (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland), Peter Allan (Scotland)

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