Cardiff Rugby travel to northern Italy to face Benetton in the quarter-finals of the European Challenge Cup on Saturday afternoon.
Cardiff progressed to the quarter-finals after a superb 28-27 win over Sale Sharks at the Arms Park last weekend. Meanwhile, Benetton dismantled United Rugby Championship rivals Connacht in a 41-19 victory at Stadio Comunale Di Monigo in their round of 16 tie.
The Welsh capital city club have a proud record in this tournament, lifting the trophy in 2010 and 2018, and will be looking to add a third Challenge Cup to the Arms Park trophy cabinet.
Cardiff came third in Challenge Cup Pool A while Benetton finished second in Pool B.
The winner of this tie will face the winners of the game between Toulon and current holders Lyon in the semi-finals.
Here’s everything you need to know about the match:
What time is Benetton v Cardiff Rugby kick-off?
Benetton v Cardiff will kick off at 3pm UK time on Saturday, April 8, at Stadio Comunale Di Monigo in Treviso, Italy.
What TV channel is Benetton v Cardiff Rugby on?
Benetton v Cardiff will be broadcast live on BT Sport 3. Coverage begins at 2.45pm. The full match will then be replayed on S4C at 7.30pm.
What's the team news?
Benetton: Rhyno Smith; Edoardo Padovani, Nacho Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Marcus Watson; Jacob Umaga, Dewaldt Duvenage (capt); Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Giacomo Nicotera, Tiziano Pasquali, Niccolò Cannone, Federico Ruzza, Sebastian Negri, Michele Lamaro, Henry Stowers.
Replacements: Siua Maile, Thomas Gallo, Filippo Alongi, Riccardo Favretto, Manuel Zuliani, Lorenzo Cannone, Alessandro Garbisi, Tomas Albornoz.
Cardiff: Ben Thomas; Owen Lane, Mason Grady, Max Llewellyn, Josh Adams; Rhys Priestland, Tomos Williams; Corey Domachowski, Liam Belcher, Keiron Assiratti, Josh Turnbull (capt), Teddy Williams, James Botham, Thomas Young, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Kristian Dacey, Rhys Carré, Will Davies-King, Seb Davies, Lopeti Timani, James Ratti, Lloyd Williams, Jason Harries.
Who is the Benetton v Cardiff referee?
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe (England) and Jake Makepeace (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)
What has the coach said?
Cardiff director of rugby Dai Young: "We’re confident but we have to have another performance like we had against Sale. We went out there last year and had our dinner fed to us if you remember.
“They’re a good team, a quality team and are very hard to beat at home. All the talk last week was about making sure the Sale game wasn’t our cup final. We need to back that performance up and it will take another performance like that to go there and win.
“There’s no reason why we can’t go there with confidence but we’re also hugely respectful of the opposition. They had a good win against a good Connacht team and we’re going to have to be somewhere near our best.”
Route to the Challenge Cup quarter-finals
Benetton:
Challenge Cup group stage
A: 24-14 loss vs Stade Français Paris (09/12/22)
A: 45-7 win vs Bayonne (17/12/22)
H: 26-7 win vs Bayonne (14/01/23)
H: 35-32 win vs Stade Français Paris (21/01/23)
Round of 16
H: 41-19 win vs Connacht (01/04/23)
Cardiff:
Challenge Cup group stage
H: 41-0 win vs Brive (10/12/22)
A: 47-10 win vs Newcastle Falcons (17/12/22)
H: 42-10 win vs Newcastle Falcons (15/01/23)
A: 37-24 loss vs Brive (21/01/23)
Round of 16
H: 28-27 win vs Sale Sharks (01/04/23)
