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Paraguay will face Brazil on Saturday, June 26. The match is a winner-takes-all Rugby World Cup 2023 qualifier. A place is on the line in the final round; a trip to Montevideo to face Uruguay in addition to one of Chile or Colombia awaits the winner.
Paraguay’s on-field preparations for the RWC 2023 qualifiers started this year. Paraguay has not played test match rugby since 2019. Preparation, thereby came by other means. The leading pathway is the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR).
The Olímpia Lions had a highly successful SLAR campaign. The Paraguayan side were beaten by Los Jaguares XV in the SLAR Semi Finals. The Paraguayan side caused upsets but did so with a roster dominated by Argentine players. It marked an approach of establishing a strong team ahead of giving Paraguayans game time.
PARAGUAY
| ## | PLAYER | CLUB | POS |
| 1 | Martín Sitjar | Olímpia Lions | LH |
| 2 | Lucas Otoño | CURDA | HO |
| 3 | Enrique Quinteros | Olímpia Lions | TH |
| 4 | Mariano Garcete | Olímpia Lions | LO |
| 5 | Carlos Plate | Olímpia Lions | LO |
| 6 | Matías Gómez Vara | Olímpia Lions | FL |
| 7 | Jerónimo Gómez Vara | Olímpia Lions | FL |
| 8 | Marcos Riquelme | Olímpia Lions | N8 |
| 9 | Gonzalo Villalba Servin | Santa Clara | SH |
| 10 | Sebastián Urbieta | Olímpia Lions | FH |
| 11 | Marcelo Matiauda | Olímpia Lions | WI |
| 12 | Rodrigo Gómez Vara | Olímpia Lions | CE |
| 13 | Diego Argaña | Olímpia Lions | CE |
| 14 | Juan González | Olímpia Lions | WI |
| 15 | Renato Cardona | Olímpia Lions | FB |
Paraguay’s projected starting line-up to face Brazil is SLAR-centric; notwithstanding, not all of the projected line-up played for the Olímpia Lions in 2021. There were positions in which no Paraguayan received game time. The two cases in the above projected line-up come at hooker and scrum-half. Both Lucas Otoño and Gonzalo Villalba Servin were in consideration but did not play.
Carlos Plate is regularly a back-rower. He may appear at N8, flanker or the second-row. He had a start at second-row in SLAR this season. He is projected to lock the scrum with Mariano Garcete, a player who received regular game time for the Olímpia Lions in 2021.
Rodrigo Gómez Vara, Matías Gómez Vara and Jerónimo Gómez Vara are Argentines. They qualify for Paraguay via ancestry. The trio may all be playing against Brazil in June. Rodrigo Gómez Vara has already been capped by Paraguay.
With the exception of scrum-half, all other projected backs had starts for the Olímpia Lions in the 2020 SLAR season. A number of them played across multiple positions. As such, the back-three could very well be as projected above but with the three players all in alternate positions.
