Benetton Treviso caused the first shock of the RaboDirect Pro12 season with a gritty win over the Ospreys just a matter of weeks ago in wet and windy conditions. Last season Treviso defeated French giants Biarritz and drew with the Ospreys so playing in Europe no longer has any fear for the Italians.
The Ospreys will be facing a Treviso side which welcomes back wing Ludovico Nitoglia who returns for the first time since the middle of September.
Ospreys backs coach Gruff Rees said: “This time of the year is always an exciting period and that’s moreso than ever this year, with such a tough and challenging pool facing us. We’ve been drawn against the best team in Italy, France and England, there are six Heineken Cup titles in the pool and every match is going to be a real test.
“Treviso first up is a difficult one, we’ve seen for ourselves already, not just on the opening day of the season but also last year in the Heineken, how good a team they are. Leicester have also found it tough going against them in Europe and Toulouse will be well aware of how Biarritz fared against them last season, so we will be paying them the respect you would expect for such a good team.
“It’s crucial in Europe to get off to a good start, and crucial that you win your home games, so the importance of Friday night can’t be underestimated. As a group we’ll need to be at our best if we want to get the right reward, and we need the crowd to be there fighting every inch for the cause with the team.”
