Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Day two of the 2018 Nations Cup takes place on Wednesday. As was the case on day one player welfare concerns see the rugby being moved to the Carrasco Polo Club. The hosts, Uruguay take on Emerging Italy in a big opportunity for all players as the countdown to RWC 2019 continues.
Fresh off their impressive win over the Fiji Warriors, Uruguay have used their roster to their advantage. Players have been selected to face Emerging Italy not only with an eye to winning but also to ensuring they will not be overplayed for Sunday’s match against the Argentina XV.
Among the changes from the side that faced the Fiji Warriors three are in the forwards and four in the backs. Up front there is a change at hooker with German Kessler being replaced by Carlos Pombo. Meanwhile in the second-row Diego Ayala comes in to start ahead of Manuel Leindekar.
Juan Manuel Gaminara again captains the side from flanker. Alejandro Nieto has also been retained in the back-row. The one change sees a starts for Juan Diego Ormaechea. He replaces the uncapped Leandro Segredo who was a stand-out against the Fiji Warriors.
In the backs there is a double change in the halves. Santiago Arata and Felipe Berchesi drop to the bench with Agustin Ormaechea named at scrum half and Rodrigo Silva moving from fullback to fly half.
The change for Silva is not unfamiliar. He played in the position in the series win over Namibia last November. His move to wear the 10 shirt is a strong indication of plans for RWC 2019 when Uruguay will have a demanding schedule and will need to plan smart to achieve the goal of winning a pool match.
With Silva at fly half the fullback position goes to Gastón Mieres. More than capable, Mieres was involved in RWC 2015 and also had a stint playing in England. Completing the team is Federico Favaro. The goal-kicking winger starts in place of Nicolás Freitas.
Emerging Italy have made just the two changes. They come at hooker and scrum half. Hooker sees Luhandre Luus dropping to the bench with Nicolò Broglia starting in his place. At scrum half Clermont Espoir Charly Trussardi also drops to the bench with Simone Parisotto set to start in the 9 shirt.
Uruguay and Emergency Italy squared-off twelve months ago. The home side were victorious by 30-21. Los Teros fielded a strong line-up but this time around they have named a superior line-up. The roster itself is also better prepared due to the resource investment at the Estadio Charrúa and the birth of professionalism.
Uruguay’s preparation and form make them favorites to win against Emerging Italy. The lack of changes made by the Italians may prove costly as the second half progresses. Uruguay enter as favorites to win by a margin of 12 points.
URUGUAY
15 Gastón Mieres, 14 Leandro Levias, 13 Joaquín Prada, 12 Andrés Vilaseca, 11 Federico Favaro, 10 Rodrigo Silva, 9 Agustín Ormaechea, 8 Alejandro Nieto, 7 Juan Diego Ormaechea, 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara (capt.), 5 Diego Ayala, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 3 Juan Echeverría, 2 Carlos Pombo, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements: 16 German Kessler, 17 Matías Benitez, 18 Felipe Inciarte, 19 Diego Magno, 20 Manuel Diana, 21 Santiago Arata, 22 Felipe Berchesi, 23 Nicolás Freitas
EMERGING ITALY
15 Massimo Cioffi, 14 Andrea Bronzini, 13 Marco Zanon, 12 Matteo Gabbianelli, 11 Pierre Bruno, 10 Andrea Menniti-Ippolito, 9 Simone Parisotto, 8 Andrea Trotta, 7 Federico Conforti (capt.), 6 Giovanni Pettinelli, 5 Samuele Ortis, 4 Ugo D’Onofrio, 3 George Iacob, 2 Nicolò Broglia, 1 Riccardo Brugnara
Replacements: 16 Luhandre Luus, 17 Niccolò Zago, 18 Alessandro Vannozzi, 19 Davide Fragnito, 20 Gianmarco Vian, 21 Charly Trussardi, 22 Maicol Azzolini, 23 Marco Capraro
Date: Wednesday June 06
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Venue: Carrasco Polo, Montevideo
Referee: Shota Tevzadze (Georgia)
Assistant Referees: Mike Adamson (Scotland), Santiago Romero (Uruguay)
Streaming: World Rugby
