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The Final fixture of Los Jaguares inaugural season will not be an occasion of celebrations. The team has been unable to deliver results on the field and will play no part in the play-off’s. Form has been a problem as has injuries and the latter has gotten worse ahead of the upcoming home match this coming Saturday.
Los Jaguares will host the Lions in Buenos Aires. The fixture will serve as little value in terms of Super Rugby. The Lions will play in the play-off’s but are to be resting a number of players this coming weekend.
The South Americans, meanwhile, have a host of players to injury. Lucas Noguera Paz, Rodrigo Báez, Juan Cruz Guillemaín and Emiliano Boffelli are four players to have suffered serious injuries. All were missing from the June Internationals and none are certain of featuring in the Rugby Championship.
Other players have missed out on numerous fixtures through injury. Matías Alemanno, Santiago González Iglesias, Juan Mártin Hernández and Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro being cases in point. In all instances they were monitored and trained individually before resuming regular practice with the larger squad.
Training for the Lions has continued with this tendency. Captain Agustín Creevy being the latest to do so. He is being tested to determine his fitness. Encouraging news is that both Alemanno and Noguera Paz are also both back in training. Of them Alemanno is expected to be fit to face the Lions.
With Alemanno and Cruz Guillemaín out for a sustained period Los Jaguares were missing 50% of their second-rowers. 2o year old Ignacio Larrague and 18 year old Marcos Kremer were called up to fill the void. Both players debuted from the bench over the past two rounds. Moreover back-rower Javier Ortega Desio started in play e of Guido Petti.
Against the Lions Kremer is now set to earn his first start. He will be doing so not as a second-rower but as a back-rower. He has been training in place of Pablo Matera who sprained his neck playing against the Highlanders.
Also missing training so far this week has been Facundo Isa. The number 8 has flu-like symptoms which has seen Juan Manuel Leguizamón moved to the back of the scrum. In place of Leguizamón Javier Ortega Desio has completed the starting loose-forward trio in training.
