SLAR Semi Final Preview – Peñarol vs Selknam

It is the business end of the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) season. In the first Semi Final the second and third placed teams from the regular season will go head-to-head. Uruguayan side Peñarol take on Chilean franchise Selknam in what is historic for rugby. It marks the first professional rugby semi final involving two teams from South America.

Peñarol do not go in to the game with form on their side. The Uruguayan side’s second half of the season has been underwhelming. It started well with a 29-10 win over the Olímpia Lions and was followed by a 40-12 win over Os Cobras. he three most recent games were ridden with problems. Peñarol defeated Los Cafeteros Pro 14-13; and was beaten 27-17 by Selknam and 42-18 by Los Jaguares XV. In short, the pressure is on Peñarol.

The team named for the SLAR Semi Final is very powerful. Teros front-rowers Juan Echeverría, Guillermo Pujadas, and Diego Arbelo combine up front while Felipe Aliaga, and Nahuel Milan lock the scrum. Manuel Ardao, and Santiago Civetta join Argentine Conrado Roura in the back-row.

The backline will be operated by Manuel Nogués at scrum-half. He has done his Pumas ambitions no harm in SLAR this season. The up-and-coming Martín Roger starts at fly half. The Argentine pairing will have plenty of Uruguayan fire outside them. Nicolás Freitas has been center this seaosn, but reverts to his RWC 2019 position of the left wing. Test captain Andrés Vilaseca starts at inside center. The versatile Tomás Inciarte will add a second scrum-half option from the mid-field while Federico Favaro, and the explosive José Maria Iruleguy start on the right wing and at fullback.

The starting lineup is oozing with test caps; so too is the replacements. On the one hand there are season regulars Facundo Gattas, Ignacio Peculo, Matías Benítez, Eric Dosantos, Carlos Deus, Felipe Arcos, and Juan Manuel Alonso. On the other hand, RWC 2015 and 2019 N8 Alejandro Nieto makes his return from injury and will make his season debut.

Peñarol’s late season form can be attributed to having sealed their Semi Final spot early. The same point can, in part, explain why Selknam fell to a defeat against Os Cobras in round 10. The forwards selected to take on Peñarol are a stacked deck. The smash brothers, Martín Sigren and Ignacio Silva start on the flanks. They are joined by Alfonso Escobar in the back-row.

Selknam’s scrum has caused problems to all opponents, including Los Jagaures XV. The all-Chilean front-row of Javier Carrasco,  Augusto Bohme, and Matías Dittus will start on Saturday. Sigren, Silva and Escobar are also Chileans as is one half of the second-row, Clemente Saavedra. The one starting import in the forwards will be el Tucumáno Santiago Portillo.

A slight surprise in the backs sees Santiago Videla at fly half not inside center. Either way, he is one of the leading Selknam players this year and among the leading backs in the league. His place at fly half for Chile in the Rugby World Cup Qualifers is assured.

Selknam will have a second goal-kicking option at scrum-half; Patricio Baronio starts inside Videla. Baronio is the only Argentine in the backs. Of the Chileans, Domingo Saavedra is one to watch out for. He was named by ARN in the SLAR: 2021 All-Stars.

The Semi Final will be the fourth meeting between Peñarol and Selknam. The Chileans go in to the game with a 2-1 record. Selknam’s to victories were both upsets and both took place at Montevideo’s Estadio Charrúa. First, Santiago Videla kicked Selknam to a 15-13 win in the inaugural SLAR fixture in 2020. Second, Selknam were 27-17 winners two weeks ago. Videla was again influential with 17 points. In between the two matches, Peñarol won 26-22 in Santiago.

All three prior SLAR matches between Peñarol and Selknam have been won by the visitors. Notwithstanding, this is not a sufficient indicator to suggest that Selknam are favorites. The overall form and player management are both useful tools. Peñarol won seven SLAR matches in 2021, two more than Selknam. This difference can, in part, be attributed to Selknam’s rotation for certain matches. In short, indications are that the teams are very close. ARN projects a Selknam win by 3 points.

Kickoff is set for 6:00pm local time, Asunción, Buenos Aires and Brasília; 5:00pm Santiago; and 4pm Bogotá. Live broadcasts will be provided by ESPN in the competing countries.

PEÑAROL
1 Juan Echeverría, 2 Guillermo Pujadas, 3 Diego Arbelo, 4 Felipe Aliaga, 5 Nahuel Milan, 6 Manuel Ardao, 7 Santiago Civetta, 8 Conrado Roura, 9 Manuel Nogués, 10 Martín Roger, 11 Nicolás Freitas, 12 Andrés Vilaseca (capt.), 13 Tomás Inciarte, 14 Federico Favaro, 15 José Maria Iruleguy

Replacements: 16 Facundo Gattas, 17 Ignacio Peculo, 18 Matías Benítez, 19 Alejandro Nieto, 20 Eric Dosantos, 21 Carlos Deus, 22 Felipe Arcos, 23 Juan Manuel Alonso

SELKNAM
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Augusto Bohme, 3 Matías Dittus, 4 Santiago Portillo, 5 Clemente Saavedra, 6 Martín Sigren, 7 Ignacio Silva (capt.), 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Patricio Baronio, 10 Santiago Videla, 11 Nicolás Garafulic, 12 Matías Garafulic, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 14 Julio Blanc, 15  Rodrigo Fernández

Replacements: 16 Tomás Dussailant, 17 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 18 Salvador Lues, 19 Tomás Orchard, 20 Bautista Stavile, 21 Lukas Carvallo, 22 José Larenas, 23 Raimundo Martínez

Date: Saturday, May 08
Venue: Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo
Kickoff: 6:00pm (Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Brasília), 5:00pm (Santiago), 4:00pm (Bogotá)
Referee: Damian Schneider (Argentina)
Broadcast: ESPN 2 (America Latina), ESPN 2 (Brazil)

Historical Results:
2021-04-26 Peñarol 17, Selknam 27 (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay)
2021-03-30 Selknam 22, Peñarol 26 (Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile)
2020-03-04 Peñarol 14, Selknam 13 (Estadio Charrúa, Montvideo, Uruguay)