Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
The SLAR 2021 season opens on Tuesday. The first fixture will be between professional rugby teams from Uruguay and Paraguay; Peñarol and the Olímpia Lions. Both teams featured in the inaugural SLAR season in 2020, though their first head-to-head encounter will be in 2021.
The bulk of the Peñarol roster are Uruguayan test players. This is reflected in the team named to face the Olímpia Lions. Andrés Vilaseca leads Peñarol from inside center. He will be joined by ten Uruguayan test players in the starting line-up.
Vilaseca and Tomás Inciarte will be the starting centers. This was the same combination that took to the field for Uruguay vs Australia at RWC 2019 in Oita. Regular Teros Nicolás Freitas and Rodrigo Silva start on the left wing and at fullback while goal-kicker Federico Favaro will play right wing. The Uruguayan test backs will be serviced Argentines; Manuel Nogúes and Martín Roger will start at scrum-half and fly half respectively.
Two starting forwards are also Argentine. Facundo Pomponio will play tight head and Conrado Roura will play N8. Both men were SLAR players in 2020; Pomponio for Olímpia Lions and Roura for Los Ceibos. Pomponio will join Matías Benítez and Guillermo Pujadas in the front-row. Roura starts with Teros’ flankers Manuel Ardao and Santiago Civetta in the back-row. The youthful Juanjuan Garese and Felipe Aliaga compete the starting line-up. They will lock the scrum.
Thirteen Argentines will start for the Olímpia Lions. The two Paraguayans come in the form of center Sebastián Urbieta, and winger Juan González. By way of comnparison, none of the fifteen starting players that faced Los Ceibos twelve months ago were Paraguayans.
Olímpia will take to the field with Rodrigo Martínez, Áxel Zapata, and Lucas Favre in the front-row. All three are reputable names; all have played for the Argentina XV. Mauro Rebussone, and Carlos Repetto will lock the scrum. Jeronimo Gómez Vara, Lucas Santa Cruz, and Ignacio Gandini complete the starting line-up. Gómez Vara is eligible to play for Paraguay.
Ignacio Inchauspe starts ahead of Joaquín Pellandini at scrum-half. They are arguably a contemporary version of the former competition for Los Pumas 9 shirt between Tomás Cubelli and Martín Landajo. Of further note is that Manuel Nogúes is the opposition 9. Máximo Ledesma will start at fly half in what is his second season for the Olímpia Lions.
Juan González and Sebastián Urbieta fly the Paraguayan colors in the 11 and 12 shirts. They are joined by Francisco Dies, Leopoldo Herrera, and Martín Bogado in the back line. Cover is provided in the form of Paraguay’s Renato Cardona and Argentine-Paraguayan Rodrigo Gómez Vara.
Peñarol are favorites to win the first match between the teams. ARN projects a Peñarol victory by 12 points.
TEAMS
PEÑAROL
1 Matías Benítez, 2 Guillermo Pujadas, 3 Facundo Pomponio, 4 Juanjuan Garese, 5 Felipe Aliaga, 6 Manuel Ardao, 7 Santiago Civetta, 8 Conrado Roura, 9 Manuel Nogúes, 10 Martín Roger, 11 Nicolás Freitas, 12 Andrés Vilaseca (capt.), 13 Tomás Inciarte, 14 Federico Favaro, 15 Rodrigo Silva
Replacements: 16 Facundo Gattas, 17 Diego Arbelo, 18 Juan Echeverría, 19 Eric Dosantos, 20 Carlos Deus, 21 Santiago Álvarez, 22 Juan Manuel Alonso, 23 José Iruleguy
OLÍMPIA LIONS
1 Rodrigo Martínez, 2 Áxel Zapata (capt.), 3 Lucas Favre, 4 Mauro Rebussone, 5 Carlos Repetto, 6 Jeronimo Gómez Vara, 7 Lucas Santa Cruz, 8 Ignacio Gandini, 9 Ignacio Inchauspe, 10 Máximo Ledesma, 11 Juan González, 12 Sebastián Urbieta, 13 Francisco Dies, 14 Leopoldo Herrera, 15 Martín Bogado
Replacements: 16 Mariano Muntaner, 17 Javier Diaz, 18 Enrique Quinteros, 19 Mariano Garcete, 20 Marcos Riquelme, 21 Joaquín Pellandini, 22 Rodrigo Gómez Vara, 23 Renato Cardona
Date: Tuesday, March 16
Kick-Off: 4:30pm (Santiago)
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Venue: Estadio La Pintana, Santiago, Chile
Broadcast: ESPN (Latin America), ESPN Brasil
