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The first of two games at Vélez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires on Saturday will see the Argentina XV playing against Uruguay a few hours ahead of the Jaguares match against the Bulls. It’s not exactly a double-header given the space between the two but an interesting note nonetheless.
Argentina have all but locked up the Americas Rugby Championship after overwhelming the USA in Cipolletti. Uruguay is next on their list but it will be far from a full strength Teros side that faces them this weekend with none of their Major League Rugby or European professionals available.
Uruguay are on a high having won both of their matches but must play a largely second-string side from here on out. There are four changes to the starting pack that faced Chile. Mateo Sanguinetti, Diego Magno, and Alejandro Nieto have all joined up with the Houston SaberCats and are replaced by Facundo Gattas, Gonzalo Soto Mera, and Manuel Diana respectively. The other change sees Leandro Segredo start in place of Juan Diego Ormaechea on the flank.
With Leandro Leivas and Gastón Mieres departed for Toronto there are starts for Federico Favaro on the wing and Manuel Blengio at fullback. Andrés Vilaseca is in Austin giving Agustín Della Corte to start in the midfield. Joaquín Prada provides experience outside him and wins his 50th cap for Los Teros having debuted in 2013.
There are five new caps on the bench. Loosehead prop Joaquín Jaunsolo and loose forward Santiago Civetta are graduates of last year’s u20 program, while Santiago Piñeyrúa played for the Teritos in 2015 on the wing but has bulked up and is now primarily an eightman. Midfielder Mateo Mari is a late addition to the squad in place of Andrés De León, and 18-year-old scrumhalf Ignacio Rodríguez is set to become one of the youngest ever Uruguayan internationals.
Ignacio Fernández Lobbe has shown greater selection consistency than his predecessors and there are just four change sto the team that started against both Brazil and the USA. Gaspar Baldunciel has been called up to the Jaguares training group so Axel Zapata starts at hooker. Franco Molina was meant to do the same but a shoulder injury to Lucas Paulos sees Molina stay with the squad to partner Carlos Repetto art lock. Benito Ortíz de Rosas is the new No8 in place of Nicolas Sbrocco.
The backs are a settled group with only one personnel change and one positional switch. Santiago Carreras has been suspended so Martín Elías moves to fullback and Domingo Miotti starts at flyhalf. Miotti has been training with the Jaguares and is likely to make his Super Rugby debut later this season.
Other notable changes on the bench see capped Pumas Diego Fortuny and Javier Díaz joining the squad to cover hooker and loosehead prop respectively. Tomás Cubilla replaces Teo Castiglioni as midfield cover.
With all players available this might have been a competitive contest but a shorthanded Uruguayan side will not be able to overturn an in-form Argentina XV that lived up to their estimation as the best selection since 2016. Look for the home side to cruise to a comfortable win against their inexperienced opponents.
Kickoff is set for 11:40am local time, 9:40am Eastern. A live broadcast will be available on ESPN 3 in South America, with FloRugby providing coverage in the USA and TSN streaming platforms in Canada. World Rugby will broadcast the match for those located elsewhere.
ARGENTINA XV
1 Nicolás Solveyra, 2 Axel Zapata, 3 Lucas Favre, 4 Carlos Repetto, 5 Franco Molina, 6 Francisco Gorrissen, 7 Lautaro Bavaro (capt.), 8 Benito Ortíz de Rosas, 9 Felipe Ezcurra, 10 Domingo Miotti, 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 Lucas Mensa, 13 Agustín Segura, 14 Matías Osadczuk, 15 Martín Elías
Replacements: 16 Diego Fortuny, 17 Javier Díaz, 18 Marco Ciccioli, 19 Jerónimo Ureta, 20 Nicolás Sbrocco, 21 Gregorio del Prete, 22 Tomás Cubilla, 23 Facundo Cordero
URUGUAY
1 Facundo Gattas, 2 Germán Kessler, 3 Mario Sagario, 4 Gonzalo Soto Mera, 5 Juan Manuel Rodríguez, 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara (capt.), 7 Leandro Segredo, 8 Manuel Diana, 9 Tomás Inciarte, 10 Juan Manuel Cat, 11 Nicolás Freitas, 12 Agustín Della Corte, 13 Joaquín Prada, 14 Federico Favaro, 15 Manuel Blengio
Replacements: 16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Joaquín Jaunsolo, 18 Juan Rombys, 19 Santiago Piñeyrúa, 20 Santiago Civetta, 21 Ignacio Rodríguez, 22 Ignacio García, 23 Mateo Mari
Date: Saturday, February 23
Venue: Vélez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
Kickoff: 11:40 local (06:40 Pacific, 09:40 Eastern)
Referee: Derek Summers (USAR)
Broadcasts: ESPN 3 (South America), DirecTV (Uruguay), FloRugby (USA), TSN.ca (Canada), World Rugby
