LONG READ URC season preview: How will the Scottish and Italian sides fare?

Glasgow have been the standard bearers for Scotland since the advent of the United Rugby Championship four years ago, reaching the knockout stages each season and winning the title in 2023-24 with stunning away triumphs over Munster and the Bulls.

The defence of their crown may have ended in semi-final defeat by eventual champions Leinster in Dublin, but it was still a commendable effort given Warriors had to cope without several leading performers for long periods of the campaign.

While Glasgow return to the status of “the hunter, rather than the hunted”, as attack coach Nigel Carolan put it, Edinburgh are aiming to emulate the top-four finish – yielding a home quarter-final – their Scottish rivals have reaped for the last three years.

The capital side reached the last eight in the first year of the URC in 2021-22, losing a quarter-final to Stormers in Cape Town, and met a similar fate in South Africa last season – this time against the Bulls in Pretoria – after another seventh-placed finish.

Benetton could relate to that, a breakthrough first appearance in the knockout stages for the Italians in 2023-24 also coming to an end on the highveld in the quarter-finals. Can the well-resourced Treviso outfit return to the top eight after missing out last year?

Compatriots Zebre Parma may have more modest ambitions, having finished rock bottom in the first three years of the URC. But they almost doubled their points tally last season, with five wins and a draw, and are seeking to maintain that upward trajectory.

RugbyPass assesses the prospects of all four teams with the new URC season poised for lift-off on Friday.

EDINBURGH

Ins: Rhys Litterick (Cardiff), James Whitcombe (Leicester), Callum Hunter-Hill (Northampton), Dylan Richardson (Sharks), Piers O’Conor (Connacht), Charlie McCaig (Exeter), Malelili Satala (Leicester)

Outs: Dave Cherry (Vannes), Robin Hislop (retired), Javan Sebastian (Cardiff), Jamie Hodgson (Newcastle), Jamie Ritchie (Perpignan), Ali Price (Montpellier), Matt Scott (retired), Mark Bennett, Emiliano Boffelli, Nathan Sweeney (all unattached)  

First 5 games: Zebre (A), Ulster (H), Munster (A), Benetton (H), Cardiff (A)

Strengths:

While Edinburgh will miss the snarl and skill of the departed Jamie Ritchie, especially at the breakdown, they can still boast a pack bulging with internationals and capable of competing at the sharp end with most teams.

Versatile hooker-cum-back-row Dylan Richardson will add to that roster once he is up and running, young openside Freddy Douglas can expect more opportunities to show his burgeoning talent while the second-row cupboard – with a Test quartet of Grant Gilchrist, Sam Skinner, Marshall Sykes and Glen Young backed up by two wannabes in Callum Hunter-Hill and the 6ft 11in Rob Carmichael – looks particularly well stocked.

Edinburgh’s attack was much improved last term after the struggles in Sean Everitt’s first season, when the initial focus was elsewhere. Having managed only three try bonus-points, the joint-second worst in the league, in 2023-24, they trebled that to nine, which ultimately saw them into the play-offs ahead of teams who won more games.

With the twinkled-toed Darcy Graham and finishing power of Duhan van der Merwe out wide, allied to Wes Goosen’s transition to a top-notch full-back and Harry Paterson – if he can stay fit – in reserve, the capital side can call on some stellar back-three options.

Weaknesses:

The maddening inconsistency that has bedevilled Edinburgh for many a long year was still in evidence last season: thumping Stormers a week after being humiliated by the Lions; losing at home to Zebre before a superb win at Munster in their next outing.

That triumph in Cork was one of only two on the road in the URC, and they will need to be more resilient and clinical away from home if those top-four ambitions are still to be alive come the spring.

A favourable opening block – on paper, at least – will tell us much about whether they have the depth to contend despite early-season injuries.

Edinburgh look light at half-back. Having opted not to replace Ali Price, much rests on Ben Vellacott staying fit – and explains their interest in luring Ben White from Toulon – while they start their campaign with just one fit No.10 in Ben Healy, who has not started a game since January, so Ross Thompson’s hasty return is imperative.

Midfield is also a concern. With Mosese Tuipulotu out until December and new arrival Charlie McCaig out for the season, any extended absence for Matt Currie as he deals with vertigo would leave them lacking in gainline punch at centre alongside James Lang’s intelligent prompting.

Verdict: Edinburgh’s stated aim is a top-four finish and with everyone fit and firing, they may not be far off, even if it still takes a leap of faith to see them reaching that goal. A favourable opening block – on paper, at least – will tell us much about whether they have the depth to contend despite early-season injuries. Top eight again may be more realistic.

GLASGOW

Ins: Tavi Tuipulotu (Waratahs), Alex Craig (Scarlets), Jack Oliver (Munster), Dan Lancaster (Racing 92), Charlie Savala (Northampton)

Outs: JP Du Preez (Red Hurricanes, Japan), Henco Venter (Brive), Jack Mann (Gloucester), Sean Kennedy (Stirling County), Tom Jordan (Bristol), Sebastian Cancelliere (Hindu, Argentina), Facundo Cordero (Regatas, Argentina)

First 5 games: Sharks (H), Benetton (A), Dragons (H), Ospreys (A), Bulls (H)

Strengths:

Would the momentum of the last three years have stalled had Franco Smith been tempted by the overtures of Wales, Leicester, the Bulls or England (as he revealed recently)? Quite probably. The importance of holding onto the main man behind the Warriors’ renaissance and their 2023-24 title cannot be under-estimated.

Some key foreign players may have departed against his will, but Smith ultimately decided there was a lot to like about what he has at Scotstoun – a settled squad studded with Scotland stars and bags of burgeoning talent bristling with ambition.

Sione Tuipulotu is perhaps the most influential presence and even without centre confrère and fellow Lion Huw Jones – recovering from ankle surgery – for the first tranche of games, he can be expected to bring renewed spark and direction to an attack that has scored 163 tries in 41 URC matches over the last two seasons, a smidgeon under four per game. When Warriors set sail in full flight, there are few better sights in the league.

Alex Craig, recruited from Scarlets, will add further nous and craft to an already stacked second-row department boasting Scott Cummings, Gregor Brown, Max Williamson, Alex Samuel and the exciting raw talent of Jare Oguntibeju.

Weaknesses:

Tom Jordan’s departure for Bristol was a major blow. His aggression and ball-carrying snarl added an extra dimension to Warriors’ attack, which may need a slight tweak with either new signing Dan Lancaster or Adam Hastings in the No.10 shirt.

Glasgow could also be stretched at No.8 in those periods either side of, and during, the Test windows when Jack Dempsey and Matt Fagerson are away with Scotland, with neither the coming Jack Mann nor the experienced Henco Venter replaced this summer.

There is no reason to suspect Glasgow, who have finished fourth in each of the last three years, won’t be in the mix for a URC home quarter-final again.

An over-reliance on the redoubtable Zander Fagerson was also evident in the biggest tests last season, and Scotland’s premier tighthead starts the new campaign under a fresh injury cloud. One of Fin Richardson, Murphy Walker or Patrick Schickerling needs to take a big step forward if Warriors are to avoid set-piece issues which saw them offend more times (60) at the scrum than any other team last term, despite a 92% success rate, according to URC data.

Also, would it hurt to kick a few more penalties in tight games? Glasgow only pointed to the sticks four times in total in the URC last year (scoring three). As potent as their lineout drive is, it wasn’t quite as well-oiled as previously. A slightly more pragmatic streak at times – building scoreboard pressure – might not be the worst idea, but don’t bet on it.

Verdict:

Matching last year’s first appearance in a Champions Cup quarter-final, where they were thumped 52-0 by Leinster, looks a stretch given away days at Sale and Clermont in the group stages and Toulouse and Saracens visiting Scotstoun, but there is no reason to suspect Glasgow, who have finished fourth in each of the last three years, won’t be in the mix for a URC home quarter-final again.

BENETTON

Ins: Richie Asiata (Reds), John Bryant (Reds), So’otala Fa’aso’o (Perpignan), Josh Flook (Reds).

Outs: Lautaro Bazan Velez (Argentina Sevens), Nacho Brex (Toulon), Nicolo Casilio (Mogliano), Agustin Creevy (retired), Filippo Drago (Mogliano), Toa Halafihi (Petrarca Padova), Edoardo Iachizzi (Vannes), Riccardo Genovese (Mogliano), Gideon Koegelenberg (Sharks), Marco Zanon (Zebre Parma).

First 5 games: Connacht (A), Glasgow (H), Lions (H), Edinburgh (A), Stormers (H)

Strengths:

Despite its modest size and pretty backdrop, Stadio Monigo remains one of the URC’s toughest away assignments. Only last year’s finalists, the Bulls and Leinster, won in Treviso during the league season. Rotated Bath and La Rochelle squads were put to the sword there in the Champions Cup.

Benetton are building big-game experience, with the rump of an ever-growing Italian national squad at their disposal. Handsomely backed by a multitude of sponsors, new head coach Calum MacRae has close to 30 international players on his roster.

Underpinned by this Test-match nous, excellence at the breakdown, brutality up front and the lowest penalty count in the competition have proven solid foundations. The set-piece functions well, with the lineout stats among the strongest in the URC and a scrum which ranges from functional to devastating leaking the fewest infringements.

The back row, in particular, is festooned with elite operators, including Italy figurehead Michele Lamaro. Playmaker Tomas Albornoz has continued his dazzling form in a Pumas shirt, and such rapiers as Louis Lynagh, Malakai Fekitoa, Tommaso Menoncello and Onisi Ratave pepper the backline. The raw materials are there, if only Benetton can find a winning blend on a more consistent basis.

Weaknesses:

For a team with potent attacking weaponry, Benetton have often toiled to build big scores. Former coach Marco Bortolami favoured a pragmatic blueprint, grinding out results rather than releasing the handbrake. They won more games than Cardiff and Edinburgh but finished beneath both teams, outside of the play-off slots, having earned fewer bonus points.

While the Monigo may be a stronghold, fortunes on the road have been far less impressive. Benetton won a single game outside of Italy last term.

Only the bottom two clubs scored fewer tries than Benetton. Only three teams averaged fewer line breaks. MacRae, who had been assistant coach since 2022, is a defence specialist but sharpening the Trevisian attack will be near the top of his to-do list.

And while the Monigo may be a stronghold, fortunes on the road have been far less impressive. Benetton won a single game outside of Italy last term.

Verdict:

However slim the margins, 10th place was a poor return for a squad this talented. With the notable exception of Nacho Brex, Benetton have kept the majority of their front-line players. A quarter-final spot should be the minimum expectation.

ZEBRE PARMA

Ins: Albert Batista (Colorno), Mirko Belloni (Rovigo), Guilio Bertaccini (Valorugby Emilia), Franco Carrera (Pampas XV), Malik Faissal (academy), Martin Roger Farias (Viadana), Samuele Locatelli (Viadana), Giacomo Milano (academy), David Odiase (Oyonnax), Alessandro Ortombina (Perpignan), Francesco Ruffolo (Colorno), Marco Zanon (Benetton).

Outs: Luca Andreani (Fiamme Oro), Luca Bigi (Valorugby Emilia), Filippo Bozzoni (released), Danilo Fischetti (Northampton Saints), Scott Gregory (Southland), Ratko Jelic (Viadana), Rusiate Nasove (Valorugby Emilia), Fetuli Paea (Dragons), Geronimo Prisciantelli (Racing 92), Samuele Taddei (Valorugby Emilia), Andrea Zambonin (Exeter Chiefs).

First 5 games: Edinburgh (H), Lions (H), Ospreys (A), Stormers (H), Leinster (A).

Strengths:

“Never last again” was coach Massimo Brunello’s pledge when he took charge last year. Zebre Parma delivered, finishing one place and 20 points above the lowly Dragons. They claimed some big scalps in the process, winning back-to-back away matches for the first time since joining what is now the URC. Among their headline victims were Munster, Ulster and Edinburgh. Their haul of five wins and a draw was only three victories fewer than the Scottish side registered to make the play-offs.

When they click, Zebre Parma are a superb watch. They averaged six line breaks a game last season, up there with the strongest teams in the URC, and thrive in chaos, scoring a third of their tries off turnover ball.

In Gonzalo Garcia, they have Argentina’s starting scrum-half, yet he is often kept out of the side by the abrasive Alessandro Fusco. Simone Gesi and Jacopo Trulla are deadly threats on the wings. If he gets fit, and stays fit, Lorenzo Pani is a generational player. Marco Zanon will be a key acquisition in the midfield and as ever, the squad is nourished by an apparently bottomless well of Italian back-row talent. National Under-20s captain Giacomo Milano will be the latest to push for bigger things.

Weaknesses:

Without Benetton’s lavish resources, and seemingly earmarked for funding cuts or the withdrawal of their franchise agreement, Zebre Parma have never been blessed with depth. Losing Geronimo Prisciantelli to the moneyed Parisians of Racing 92 deprives them of their chief string-puller. The brilliant Danilo Fischetti and skyscraper-sized Alessandro Zambonin departing for England removes two pillars of the pack. This is the way of things when you have a meagre budget and a developmental brief. Brunello must once again polish raw gems, nurture U20s hotshots and rely on local talent stepping up from Italy’s Serie A to make the jump to the URC.

The set-piece remains a gnawing sore. No URC team conceded more scrum penalties last season.

Viewed through a wider lens, defence is an obvious frailty, even allowing for a high-risk attacking strategy. Zebre shipped 72 tries in last year’s URC, a third of them off first phase. They were also plagued by soporific starts, conceding 110 points in the opening 20 minutes of matches and scoring just 53 in response. Zebre can menace, but too often left themselves chasing a heinous deficit.

The set-piece remains a gnawing sore. No URC team conceded more scrum penalties last season. Only Munster had a poorer lineout return and only the Ospreys stole fewer opposition throws. Whether Zebre Parma have the personnel to materially change these numbers is a big question.

Verdict:

Given seven wins is the club record for a single URC campaign, Zebre Parma will hope to break new ground this season. For all their pluck and pizzazz, though, it is hard to see them clambering beyond the bottom two.

RugbyPass has been assessing the prospects for all teams in the URC this week. In case you missed them, here is our take on the four South African sides, the four Welsh regions and the four Irish provinces.