Zebre and Bayonne meet for the first time in European competition this weekend at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi as the European Rugby Challenge Cup gets underway. The French side will be eager to stop a rot that has seen them lose 10 consecutive away games in the competition, but will be high on confidence after recent domestic wins over Heineken Champions Cup hopefuls RC Toulon and Montpellier. Zebre, meanwhile, earned victories over Brive and Stade Français during last year’s Challenge Cup competition. This game is live on Sky Italia on Saturday December 12 at 13:00 UK and Irish Time. Match facts

This will be the first ever meeting in European competition between Zebre and Bayonne.
Last season Zebre won two and lost two of their four pool stage games against TOP 14 opponents in the Challenge Cup, picking up a home win against Brive and an away win against Stade Francais.
Bayonne have lost their last 10 away games in the Challenge Cup, those defeats coming by an average margin of 27 points.
Bayonne’s goal kicking success rate of 62% was the lowest of any side in the Challenge Cup last season, as a team they missed eight kicks at goal.
Zebre’s scrum success rate of 82% was the lowest of any side in the Challenge Cup last season, they lost seven of 38 scrums on their own feed.