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The second half of SLAR 2022 begins with the Olímpia Lions vs Selknam. The teams are tied for 3rd position on 14 competition points. Based on prior results between the sides and SLAR 2022 results, it is a match that could go either way.
The Olímpia Lions have the upper hand. The Paraguayan SLAR entrant won this season’s prior contest between the teams. The 22-20 result was the second win by the Olímpia Lions over Selknam. A repeat performance on Saturday will take the record to 3-1.
The team that will take to the field is seasoned. The Olímpia Lions have not rotated gretly thus far in SLAR 2022. Ignacio Gandini will captain the side from flanker, doing so alongside Mariano Romanini and Ariel Núñez in the back-row.
Regular second-rowers Lorenzo Colidio, and Mariano Garcete will again lock the scrum. They will do so behind Daniel Cabral, Mariano Muntaner, and Luis Enrique Quinteros.
An Argentine-Paraguayan halves combination sees Ignacio Inchauspe, and Sebastián Urbieta starting. They will have a rock-solid defensive arrangement outside them with Estanislao Arrias, and Francisco Díez, starting in the centers. There will also be excellent finishing capabilities with Julián Quetglas the one to watch out for in the back-three.
Selknam’s line-up is close to full-strength. The team was under-strength for the recent rounds of play in Paraguay. This was so due to players involved in a training regime in Chile to prepare for the RWC 2023 qualifiers against the USA.
The line-up to face the Olímpia Lions is boosted by the return of test captain Martín Sigren at flanker, Javier Carrasco, Tomás Dussaillant, and Matías Dittus in the front-row, Augusto Sarmiento in the second-row and Alfonso Escobar at N8. It is a close forward pack to that which Chile would start in a test match.
Returnees are also dotted across the backs. Marcelo Torrealba will start at scrum-half. He will do so inside Francisco Urroz who makes the move from fullback to fly half. The Garafulic brothers are back in the side and will start on the wings while Domingo Saavedra will play outside center.
The starting Selknam line-up is entirely Chilean. Two replacements are foreigners in second-rower Franco Molina and outside back Juan Zuccarino. The remainder of the match-day 23 are playing for places in the test team for the mid-year internationals.
TEAMS
OLÍMPIA LIONS
1 Daniel Cabral, 2 Mariano Muntaner, 3 Luis Enrique Quinteros, 4 Lorenzo Colidio, 5 Mariano Garcete, 6 Ariel Núñez, 7 Ignacio Gandini (capt.), 8 Mariano Romanini, 9 Ignacio Inchauspe, 10 Sebastián Urbieta, 11 Ignacio González, 12 Estanislao Arrias, 13 Francisco Díez, 14 Julián Quetglas, 15 Diego Walter
Replacements: 16 Emilio Gorostiaga, 17 Manuel Stuchetti, 18 Estéfano Aranda, 19 Agustín Toth, 20 Álvaro Biscay, 21 Facundo Vilalba, 22 Nicolás Hogg, 23 Gianfranco Parodi
SELKNAM
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Tomás Dussaillant, 3 Matías Dittus, 4 Santiago Pedrero, 5 Augusto Sarmiento, 6 Martín Sigren, 7 Ignacio Silva (capt.), 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Francisco Urroz, 11 Matías Garafulic, 12 José Larenas, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 14 Nicolás Garafulic, 15 Luca Strabucchi
Replacements: 16 Diego Escobar, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Vittorio Lastra, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Santiago Edwards, 21 Lukas Carvallo, 22 Gaspar Moltedo, 23 Juan Zuccarino
Date: Saturday, April 23, 2022
Venue: Estadio Elías Figueroa (Valparaíso, Chile)
Kickoff: 3:30pm (Montevideo); 2:30pm (Asunción, Santiago)
Referee: Damian Schneider (Argentina)
Assistant Referees: Matías Esteben; Simón Larrubia (Argentina)
TMO: Francisco Pesce
Broadcast: ESPN America Latina, ESPN Brasil, Star +
HISTORICAL RESULTS:
2022-03-13 – Selknam 20, Olímpia Lions 22 (Estadio Elías Figueroa (Valparaíso, Chile)
2021-04-16 – Olímpia Lions 24, Selknam 21 (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay)
2021-03-16 – Selknam 29, Olímpia Lions 16 (Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile)
