Calvisano prepare for Lomu

Italian minnows Calvisano are ready for an unlikely appointment with rugby giant Jonah Lomu when the New Zealand superstar arrives in town tomorrow.

Calvisano’s tiny 3,000-capacity San Michele ground is the venue for Lomu’s return to top-flight rugby, six months after he suffered a shoulder injury during Martin Johnson’s testimonial match at Twickenham.

Having also undergone a successful kidney transplant since he last played at a serious competitive level, Lomu will begin a seven-month stint with the Blues as stage one towards his ultimate aim of reappearing in an All Blacks shirt.

It had been thought he would feature on the replacements’ bench this weekend, and then make a full Blues debut when Calvisano visit the Arms Park next Saturday.

But Lomu has done enough to impress Blues head coach David Young ahead of their Italian job, and he will start in his familiar number 11 jersey.

“This is fantastic news for us,” said Calvisano team manager Deane McKinnel.

“There are no soccer matches here on Saturday, which should make a huge difference, and there are signs that the promise of seeing Jonah is tempting fans.

“Treviso (Calvisano’s Italian rivals) are away in the Heineken Cup this weekend, and their coach Craig Green told me that around 200 Treviso fans will be making the two-hour drive just to see Jonah. As far as I am aware, that sort of interest is unheard of over here,” he added.

Lomu apart, Cardiff also welcome back his former All Blacks colleague Xavier Rush, who has recovered from a shoulder operation, while Wales and Lions prop Gethin Jenkins – sidelined since the summer due to shoulder trouble – is a replacement.

“When you talk to the guy, the team comes first and the squad comes first, so he is a great example to any youngsters coming through,” said Young, of Lomu’s impression on the Blues set-up.

While Cardiff look to put themselves in Pool Two contention, Bath, the only English side on Heineken Cup duty tomorrow, can take charge of Pool Five by defeating Recreation Ground visitors Glasgow.

Bath have already beaten Leinster in Dublin and defeated dangerous French side Bourgoin, but acting coach Michael Foley is taking nothing for granted against the group outsiders.

“Out attitude towards Glasgow is that they are a much better team than they have been perceived,” he said.

“They are very well coached, they’ve beaten Munster and trounced Connacht and Edinburgh, and in all games that we have seen them play, they have looked extremely dangerous in all parts of the field.

“We expect to face a very difficult opposition, and those teams who beat them tend to do so by a narrow margin.”

Tomorrow’s other matches see Leinster hosting Bourgoin in Bath’s pool, while Munster face a Pool One trip to Newport Gwent Dragons, Edinburgh entertain Pool Six favourites Toulouse and there is an all-French Pool Three affair between Clermont Auvergne and Stade Francais.

Saracens, meanwhile, face a crucial clash against Ulster in Belfast tonight, with rugby director Steve Diamond admitting: “We don’t need to motivate the players for this game.”

Pool Four leaders Saracens are three points clear of Ulster, thanks to a stunning victory over French giants Biarritz in their European opener, and success at Ravenhill would strengthen hopes of an automatic quarter-final place.

“This is obviously a very big game for both sides,” said Diamond.

“Ravenhill is a very tough place to play, but we’ve got to try and look to use the energy of their crowd to our advantage. It’s a game that we are all looking forward to, and we need to go there with the right mentality.”

Guinness Premiership leaders Sale Sharks, despite the considerable presence of Munster and French challengers Castres, hold a four-point advantage at the Pool One summit, a position they can strengthen by winning in Castres tonight.

Sharks have named a 25-man squad, including just seven of the players involved in last Friday’s 24-23 Powergen Cup defeat at Llanelli.