Right Rugby
Served cool, shaken not stirred

The two sides most bristling with excitement are the Italian newcomers, Benetton Treviso and Aironi Rugby from the Viadana area. Italian rugby is making a long-awaited entry to a leading northern hemisphere tournament, and will provide a few surprises. Just as Italy were expected to take a few years to get to grips with the intensity of the RBS Six Nations, the Italians do not expect to be consistent this season. But this is a level below international, so differences will be smaller, and no Scottish team will surely dare underestimate any Italian side.

Under director of rugby Franco Bernini, and coaches Andrea Moretti, Andrew Scotney and Rowly Phillips, Aironi have pulled together a strong squad of leading Italian caps.
Locks Marco Bortolami, 6ft 8in skipper Quintin Geldenhuys and Carlo Del Fava link up, Fabio Ongaro and Matias Aguero are back from Saracens, Fabio Staibano from Castres and Salvatore Perugini from Bayonne, so one can expect a solid front five.
Treviso have lorded it over the Italian Super with six wins in eight years, and have now added Italy forwards Valerio Bernabo, Paul Derbyshire and Manoa Vosawai, a Tongan-born ball-carrier, and wings Michele Sepe and Joe Maddock over the summer.

It is always guesswork at this stage, but the unpredictable nature is made greater by those newcomers, the influence of national coaches over early-season team selections and the fact all teams are now gunning for the top four and play-offs rather than first place outright.

David Ferguson, The Scotsman