Latest news with #TommasoMenoncello
Irish Examiner
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
'It's play-off rugby now' - Munster must get the job done in make-or-break Cork clash
Nothing enhances performances better than a positive mindset and Munster's return to winning ways last weekend has flipped their task at home to fellow URC play-off contenders Benetton in Cork on Friday night on its head. Not that the challenge posed by the Treviso-based side, with a team loaded with Italian internationals spearhead by centre pairing Tommaso Menoncello and Ignacio Brex, has been downplayed but last Friday's 38-10 bonus-point win over Ulster has sent confidence levels soaring at the Irish province. The six-try performance was one of Munster's best of the season and in snapping a three-game losing streak that began with a Champions Cup quarter-final exit at Bordeaux-Begles, it allowed Ian Costello's team to finally shake off the post-European hangover that had threatened to engulf what remains of their campaign. That has served them immeasurably well in their preparations for this 18th and final round of the regular season, when only a victory will ensure a top-eight finish and knockout URC rugby beyond this weekend, as well as that all-important ticket to the 2025-26 Champions Cup draw. Failure to reach Europe's top tier competition for the first time in its 30-year history was described as 'inconceivable' by scrum-half Craig Casey but it took the older head of second row and World Cup winner Jean Kleyn to boil the challenge down to its essence ahead of this must-win game at a sold-out Virgin Media Park. 'It's basically a round of 16 for us, you have to win this game if you want to play the next one and that's what we'll do,' Kleyn declared. 'We'll play this game, hopefully we win it and then we'll travel to South Africa, Glasgow or wherever we need to do and do our best to win our game, then travel to wherever and do our best to win that game and then at the end of it hopefully we lift the cup. 'Rugby is an easy thing. We've done it before, we can do it again. We just need to get behind it. Last week was good for us. A really good confidence building training week, this week has been the same. 'Hopefully we can keep building that attitude. After the (Champions Cup) quarter-final, there's always that mental dip, the emotional downfall… the off-week we had really re-set us, we're in it now, there's a cut to training and the boys are eager. 'It's play-off rugby now, everyone wants to make their mark and have the chance to play. It's good to have that competitive nature around the place.' Munster will stick with the 23-man matchday squad which delivered that bonus-point win over Ulster a week ago, with an unchanged starting line-up and bench from the 38-10 derby win at Thomond Park last Friday when Peter O'Mahony, Stephen Archer and Conor Murray made their final appearances there ahead of their summer departures. Now it is Cork's turn for a fond farewell to the veteran trio and Virgin Media Park will be at its 8,800 capacity as hometown heroes Archer and O'Mahony start in the forward pack ahead of their retirements while scrum-half Murray's home swansong off the bench comes before moving overseas to a new club. Casey is set for his 100th and Kleyn his 150th Munster appearance also and the objective is for them all not to end their seasons this weekend. Naming an unchanged line-up for the first time this season is an undoubted boost to Munster's hopes of at least hanging onto to the eighth and final qualification spot in the standings and the 2023 URC title run, when O'Mahony led his side through a closing league run in South Africa with a win and a draw at the Stormers and Sharks before three road wins in a row should be motivation enough that anything is possible this time around. Yet Benetton, level on points with Munster and a place ahead in the standings, represent a significant hurdle to reaching those play-offs and Leamy is extremely wary of not looking beyond this Round 18 clash. Munster will need to find another gear from last Friday, and make further improvements to their still inconsistent lineout, to reach their objective. That will avoid the anxious wait for results from around the league with 10th-placed Edinburgh and ninth-placed Cardiff both in action on Friday and breathing down their necks. As defence coach Denis Leamy this week emphasised, Munster have no choice but get the job done themselves. 'There's no divine right to be in Europe. You have to work hard every day, and that's what our intention is on Friday night, to put our best foot forward and to work as hard as we can, and get the best out of ourselves.' MUNSTER: T Abrahams; C Nash, T Farrell, A Nankivell, D Kilgallen; J Crowley, C Casey; M Milne, N Scannell, S Archer; J Kleyn, T Beirne - captain; P O'Mahony, J Hodnett, G Coombes. Replacements: L Barron, J Wycherley, J Ryan, F Wycherley, T Ahern, C Murray, S O'Brien, A Kendellen. BENETTON: R Smith; I Mendy, T Menoncello, I Brex, P Odogwu; J Umaga, A Garbisi; T Gallo, S Maile, S Ferrari; S Scrafton, F Ruzza – captain; R Favretto, M Zuliani, L Cannone Replacements: B Bernasconi, M Spagnolo, T Pasquali, N Cannone, S Negri, N Casilio, T Albornoz, M Fekitoa Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland) End Information Classification - GREEN: Unrestricted
Extra.ie
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Extra.ie
Munster need a plan to deal with deadly 'Brexoncello' in all-important URC final
There is a decidedly nervy feeling around Munster ahead of Friday night's win or bust clash with Treviso in Cork. The province are sitting in the precarious position of eighth place in the URC standings ahead of the 18th and final round of the regular season. The hosts simply must prevail at Musgrave Park to guarantee their passage to the playoffs as well as Champions Cup rugby next season. No pressure, lads. A slip-up on Leeside could have catastrophic consequences for the entire operation. And it's not ideal that one of the competitions in-form teams are paying a visit either. Tommaso Menoncello. Pic:Bennetton – or Treviso, if you want to give the Italians their traditional title – will arrive in Rebel country in buoyant form on the back of an emphatic 33-7 win against Glasgow at Stadio Monigo last weekend. The Scots are the latest in a long line of big scalps this season. A list which includes the Sharks, Ulster, Edinburgh, Cardiff and the Lions. In January, they downed Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle in a European thriller on Italian soil. And a big reason for Treviso's recent success has been their stellar international midfield of Juan Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Menoncello or 'Brexoncello' as they have become known. Munster have their own dynamic duo of Alex Nankivell and Tom Farrell, the quietly excellent centres who have been arguably the province's strongest performers during a fairly middling campaign. But Brex and Menoncello are arguably the best midfield in the URC. Many observers believe they are the best centre combination in Europe at the moment. Was there a more influential or threatening midfield in the Six Nations? Juan Ignacio Brex. Pic:Irish fans will remember how the pair terrorised an out-of-sorts national team on the final day of the Six Nations in Rome a few months ago. Menoncello, in particular, was mesmeric during the Azzurri's first-half purple patch at Stadio Olimpico. And Munster are going to have their hands full containing this brilliantly balanced duo in Friday night's make-or-break league encounter. There is 10 years separating Brex, the 32-year-old Argentine-born centre, and Menoncello, the dashing young star who was named the Six Nations Player of the Year the Tournament in 2024 following a breakthrough tournament. There is a real ying and yang to this partnership. All iconic centre pairings have a nice blend of pace, power and skill. Think Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith or Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy or Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel. Juan Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Menoncello during Italy's Six Nations match against Ireland earlier this year. Pic: Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Brexoncello is another strong partnership. Brex brings a subtly with his short passing game and laser-sharp vision, while Menoncello has electric pace and deft footwork. They have combined to devastating effect on several occasions, for club and country.'He is fantastic to play with,' Menoncello recently said about his fellow midfielder. 'He is a genius with his little passes, he is famous for them and it is very difficult to defend.' Brex, meanwhile, knew that Menoncello was a special player from the moment he laid eyes on a raw 18-year-old rookie who turned up at training with the Treviso senior team as injury cover one afternoon. 'Everyone just said 'wow'. He was like he is now. We realised he can do super things, he has superpowers. It was really exciting.' They have quickly become an institution at Test level, starting the last 15 of Italy 16 games en bloc. They have been consistently hailed as a market-leading centre combo. 'Since I arrived at Benetton at the top level, he was always the first to teach me,' Menoncello noted recently. 'To now be feared by other teams as a partnership makes me very proud and happy. Obviously, having him at both club and international level creates an even stronger link, which we can bring into Six Nations and Italy matches. Current Treviso head coach and former Italy captain Marco Bortolami. Pic:'As well as helping me, this connection with Nacho helps the whole team, because we are a bit unpredictable together and we know each other very well. We understand each other just with a glance.' Indeed, current Treviso head coach and former Italy captain Marco Bortolami believes that Menoncello has only scratched the surface on his vast potential. 'Tommaso is a dominant ball carrier, but he needs to explore his full potential, such as moving the ball, becoming a playmaker when needed. That way he can become a complete and more dangerous player. If an opponent knows that when he has the ball in his hands he makes contact, that's one thing. But if he knows that he can do three different things, that's another thing altogether.' Treviso have been achieving great things as well. They reached the Champions Cup knockout stages for the first time this season, going down 39-37 to Castres in a last-16 thriller at Stade Pierre Fabre. They are on the cusp of the URC knockout stages, too. A win on Munster soil would guarantee their place in the last eight. The long-term issue for the club is whether they will be able to hold onto their prized midfield assets in the years ahead. Unlike Ireland, Italy have no restrictions on selecting overseas-based players, with the likes of Ange Capuozzo (Toulouse), Monty Ioane (Lyon), Paolo Garbisi (Toulon), Dino Lamb (Harlequins) and Ross Vintcent (Exeter Chiefs) plying their trade in foreign leagues. And it appears that a number of big clubs are eying up Brex and Menoncello. The latter has been heavily linked with La Rochelle in recent months. Menoncello's contract expires at the end of next season and O'Gara is apparently keen to add the explosive Italian to his ranks in the meanwhile, is reportedly on the way to Toulon this summer and there has been further speculation that the big-spending Top14 side also want to secure Menoncello's services. Those reports in France forced Treviso to release a strongly-worded statement last week, with the club stating that rumours that their young start would be heading for France as 'completely unfounded.''Menoncello, like all other players currently under contract, is bound to the club and he will continue to wear the green and white jersey in the 2025-26 season,' the club stated in no uncertain terms. Time will tell if Brexoncello remain on the books at Treviso next term. For now, the pair will be fully focused on causing more havoc in Cork. And that's a big worry for Munster's URC and European qualifications ambitions.
