After the away defeat against Ulster in which the Lions still collected two bonus points, the green and whites are ready to dive into the Challenge Cup. Benetton will challenge the English Gloucester in the semi-final on Saturday 4 May at 4pm. Michele Lamaro on BENTV talks about the next challenge.
Michele, it’s one of the most important weeks of the season, how are you experiencing it?
“I confirm that it is one of the most important weeks of the year, in the group there is a lot of excitement and energy to want to face a match like this. Now it’s up to us to transform this energy into actions that bring something positive on Saturday afternoon and again in training.”
Last year you already faced the semi-final of the Challenge Cup, what are the lessons for Saturday?
“Having reached this point in the cup last year has certainly added experience to the group, plus we know what it means to go and play away from home. The trip to Gloucester will certainly have some pitfalls but we are more than prepared, we want to attack the game from the first second, not give them a moment’s breathing space. All this will be fundamental to prevail over the opponent, this will be the key to the match and we will pay dearly for mistakes.”
What match will it be on Saturday afternoon at Kingsholm Stadium?
“Saturday will be a very difficult match, they are a team that certainly has greater confidence at home but we must look at ourselves by focusing on the aspects of the game that we must exploit to our advantage. It will certainly be a physical match that will be played with the top 8. Whoever manages to be more cynical in the important moments will then be the team that takes the match home.”
As captain, what will you say to your teammates before entering the pitch?
“It will depend on those moments, there will be a more emotional part and a more technical part. Sometimes it is also right to focus on the actions to be taken and it will be important that at that moment we are all on the same page. For now we focus more on the technical aspects, because as we approach the race it will be natural for the more emotional aspects to emerge.”
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