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The 2019 Sudamérica 6 Naciones A saw both the Argentina XV, and Uruguay XV unbeaten. With an eye to RWC 2019 it is good signs for the respective development structures of the two national next of XV’s.
Yet the competition was about a lot more including the crowning of a new champion, and Chile, and Colombia both winning test matches.
There were stand-out performers across all positions though selecting a Dream Team was no easy task. It required careful analysis to identify which players were the best across all fifteen positions in the South American competition.
Below is our form team for the 2019 edition of the Sudamérica 6 Naciones A.
1 – Nicolás Solveyra (Argentina XV) With the Brazilian scrum not being the same force as in th Americas Rugby Championship the weapon was blunt and actually beaten by opponents. Both Nicolás Solveyra, and Facundo Gattas had strong campaigns with the Argentina XV loose head’s defensive, and call-carrying being of note.
2 – Germán Kessler (Uruguay XV) The leading Uruguayan hooker was a force for the Uruguay XV against both Chile, and Brazil. He established a solid set-piece and was a menace in general play, scoring a try against both opponents.
3 – Matías Dittus (Chile) There were notable performances from the Argentina XV, and the Uruguay XV. Santiago Bonasso of the latter looms as a prospect. The final decision, though, goes to Chilean tight head Matías Dittus who had a solid match vs the Uruguay XV and scored two tries against Paraguay.
4 – Jerónimo Ureta (Argentina XV) Mario Ledesma has made it known that Argentina lacks tall timber. He is interested in unearthing more options and Jerónimo Ureta certainly did himself plenty of favors in the Sudamérica 6 Naciones ‘A’. On the field he was no-nonsense defender, carrier, and set-piece lock who ticked all the boxes.
5 – Pablo Huete (Chile) Professional players are precisely what Chile needs and in Pablo Huete they have a a top performer. The organizer of the Chilean pack was astute, demonstrating his value at all times. Chile certainly would benefit tremendously from having him for Americas Rugby Championship matches.
6 – Francisco Gorrissen (Argentina XV) Future Jaguar Francisco Gorrissen performed his duty as both skipper and flanker of the Argentina XV superbly. The team’s better performances compared to 2018 are connected to his contribution. Teammate Nicolás Sbrocco was also excellent, notably so against Chile.
7 – Leandro Segredo (Uruguay XV) North of the Rio de la Plata there were additional names of note. Top of the list is Leandro Segredo, a name well positioned for a place on the plane to Japan in September. Constantly where flankers need to be an aggressive in competing, Segredo caused havoc to all opposition sides.
8 – Santiago Civetta (Uruguay XV) Playing both flanker and N8 and impressing in both was Santiago Civetta. He is another case in point of the emerging player pool coming through from the Charrúa High Performance Center. Santiago Portillo played well for the Argentina XV but his red card against Brazil sees him falling behind Civetta.
9 – Gregório del Prete (Argentina XV) Tomás Iniciarte impressed for the Uruguay XV, running the game smoothly to be an option for Uruguay should they wish to take three scrum-halves to the RWC. Also organizing play smoothly was Grégorio del Prete whose vision and decision making were impeccable.
10 – Santiago Videla (Chile) Fly half saw most teams chopping and changing with Chile among them. Starting just the once was Santiago Videla who scored 17 points against the Uruguay XV. He would land two conversions against Paraguay. Other fly halves were not so successful with their goal-kicking. This combined with Videla’s positional play sees him included.
11 – Daniel Lima (Brazil) Maranhão started with a hat-trick against Paraguay and also scored against the Uruguay XV. He was quiet against the Argentina XV as his team was held scoreless. The side-stepping and acceleration were highly impressive from the fearless Tupi.
12 – José Manuel Diosa (Colombia) The toughest call of all is that of inside center. Lucas Mensa was unstoppable while Agustín Della Corte was constantly in the right place at the right time. But it is Colombia’s captain who edges out the competition. José Manuel Diosa scored points in every match with his try against the Uruguay XV being a tournament highlight.
13 – Agustín Segura (Argentina XV) 21-year-old Agustín Segura impressed both at outside center and fullback in the tournament. His dangerous running was a hallmark of the Argentina XV’s back play with his two tries against Brazil underlining his potential for the future.
14 – Federico Favaro (Uruguay XV) The goal-kicking winger was the best in his position and also the best player of the tournament. He landed match-winning six goals from six attempts to Chile, kicked ten other goals in the tournament and also scored three tries.
15 – Felipe Etcheverry (Uruguay XV) A special mention goes to Brazilian captain Daniel Sancery but the stand-out fullback was a newcomer – Felipe Etcheverry. The former Terito and 2018 Sevens World Cup graduate was an early replacement against Brazil and caused havoc with his counter-attack running. He also impressed from the back against Colombia. Suddenly his name is realistic for the RWC.
