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Los Cafeteros Pro take-on Los Jaguares XV on Sunday. The match is a second round contest in the 2021 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR). It will be game two for the Colombian side and the first SLAR match of the year for the Argentines. Los Cafeteros Pro were beaten 35-12 by Selknam on Tuesday.
The make-up to the team is heavily Colombian. Eleven starting players are Colombians and four are Argentines. This is a reflection both of development and of the strength of the opposition.
The front-row of Yani Pérez, Jorge Álvarez, and Brayhan Pérez will be up for the toughest game of their careers. They will have the support of Argentine Lautaro Simes and the rugged Jhon Álvarez to lock the scrum. Argentine second-rower Ramiro Tallone will start at flanker. He joins Diver Ceballos and Gerson Ortíz in the back-row.
Gonzalo García will captain Los Cafeteros Pro from scrum-half. He will again play inside Argentine Nicolás Roger. The five other starting backs are Colombians. Jhojan Ortíz and Cristian Rodallegas wil start together in the mid-field while Alejandro Navarro, Jhon Arley Urrutia and Andrés Álvarez will be the starting back-three.
In an Argentine head-to-head battle, Los Jaguares XV will be captained by Felipe Ezcurra from scrum-half. Ezcurra is one of four starting players who played for Argentina in the 2020 Tri Nations. He will form the halves combination with Martín Elías. Fellow Rosario back Santiago Chocobares will play at inside center.
The forwards also have a number of notable names. Juan Pablo Zeiss will start ahead of the Rock, Joel Sclavi at tight head. The back-row will consist of Francisco Gorrissen, Juan Martín González, and Joaquín Oviedo. All three went to Australia with Mario Ledesma last year. Gorrissen made his test debut in the final match of the tournament.
Los Cafeteros Pro are the first SLAR expansion side. That is to say that the team are rookies in the 2021 season. Los Jaguares XV are not a rebanded side, but a replacement team for Los Ceibos. The decision came following Los Jaguares lacking a place in the 2021 Super Rugby season.
Los Jaguares XV are the odds-on-favorites to win on Sunday. Argentine rugby has, past and present, been the force of South American rugby on the world stage. Colombia are newcomers; yet, rapid progress has been made. ARN projects Los Jaguares XV to win by 40 points.
Kickoff is set for 8pm local time, 8pm Buenos Aires, and 6pm Bogotá. Live broadcasts will be provided by ESPN in the competing countries.
CAFETEROS PRO
1 Yani Pérez, 2 Jorge Álvarez, 3 Brayhan Pérez, 4 Lautaro Simes, 5 Jhon Álvarez, 6 Ramiro Tallone, 7 Diver Ceballos, 8 Gerson Ortíz, 9 Gonzalo García (capt.), 10 Nicolás Roger, 11 Alejandro Navarro, 12 Jhojan Ortíz, 13 Cristian Rodallegas, 14 Jhon Arley Urrutia, 15 Andrés Álvarez
Replacements: 16 Agustín Acosta Bocco, 17 Javier Corvalán, 18 Diego Posada, 19 Sebastián Zapata, 20 Felipe Puertas, 21 Julián Navarro, 22 Facundo Pueyrredón, 23 Tomás Javier García
JAGUARES XV
1 Francisco Minervino, 2 Martín Vaca, 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Federico Gutiérrez, 5 Franco Molina, 6 Francisco Gorrissen, 7 Juan Martín González, 8 Joaquín Oviedo, 9 Felipe Ezcurra (capt.), 10 Martín Elías, 11 Martín Cancelliere, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 13 Tomás Cubilla, 14 Sebastián Cancelliere, 15 Juan Bautista Daireaux
Replacements: 16 Beltrán Salese, 17 Federico Wegrzyn, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Tomás Bernasconi, 20 Lautaro Bavaro, 21 Gerónimo Prisciantelli, 22 Teo Castiglioni, 23 Juan Pablo Castro
Date: Sunday, March 21
Venue: Estadio Municipal de La Pintana, Santiago, Chile
Kickoff: 20:00 local
Broadcast: ESPN Brasil, ESPN America Latina
Historical Results:
N/A
