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In an important match-up on Friday, Os Cobras and Selknam will battle it out at the Estadio Charrúa. A win for Selknam will edge the Chilean side closer to the SLAR 2022 play-off’s. Os Cobras are looking to end their losing streak and claim their first win of SLAR 2022.
The past results between the teams are 2-1 in favor of Selknam. The short story is that when Selknam play at full-strength they win by bis scores. With player rotation, they were beaten 21-20 at the death by the Brazilians in SLAR 2021.
Selknam’s line-up for Friday’s match is one featuring player rotation. With some players rested, there are rare starts for players in a number of positions. They are Salvador Lues, and Diego Escobar in the front-row, Santiago Edwards at flanker, Clemente Armstrong on the left wing, Luca Strabucchi at outside center and Uruguayan Juan Zuccarino at fullback.
Ignacio Silva will captain the Chilean team from flanker. He will have the experience of Marcelo Torrealba at scrum-half and José Larenas in the centers to help him.
Selknam will not be up against a full-strength Os Cobras team. A decision has been made to give more players opportunities. Kauã de Oliveira has a start in the second-row with veteran Cléber Días missing out on a place in the 23.
Gabriel Zurka will also have an opportunity. He will start in the back-three alongside captain Daniel Sancery and Robson Morais. It is a formation that has no prior experience together starting such a match. The centers are also new-look; Joel dos Santos and Robert Tenório start together while Lucas Spago replaces Bautista Santamarina at fly half.
The line-up named to play for Os Cobras is the first without players that are not eligible to play for Brazil. Simón Bienvenu has held down a starting spot in the centers but will not feature against Selknam. There will, however, be a debut opportunity for Argentine prop Emanuel Molina from the bench.
TEAMS
COBRAS
1 Alexandre Alves, 2 Leonardo Souza, 3 Henrique Ribeiro, 4 Gabriel Paganini, 5 Kauã de Oliveira, 6 Devon Muller, 7 Matheus Cláudio, 8 André Arruda, 9 Douglas Rauth, 10 Lucas Spago, 11 Gabriel Zurka, 12 Joel dos Santos, 13 Robert Tenório, 14 Robson Morais, 15 Daniel Sancery (capt.)
Replacements: 16 David Muller, 17 Brendon Alves, 18 Emanuel Molina, 19 Gabriel Oliveira, 20 Adrio Luiz, 21 Rafael Spago, 22 Bautista Santamarina, 23 Pedro Goulart
SELKNAM
1 Salvador Lues, 2 Diego Escobar, 3 Vittorio Lastra, 4 Franco Molina, 5 Augusto Sarmiento, 6 Santiago Edwards, 7 Ignacio Silva (capt.), 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Francisco Urroz, 11 Clemente Armstrong, 12 José Larenas, 13 Luca Strabucchi, 14 Nicolás Garafulic, 15 Juan Zuccarino
Replacements: 16 Jorge Delgado, 17 Sebastián Otero, 18 Esteban Inostroza, 19 Santiago Pedrero, 20 Ernesto Tchimino, 21 Benjamín Videla, 22 Lukas Carvallo, 23 Joaquín Milesi
Date: Friday, April 29, 2022
Kick-Off: 3:30pm (Montevideo, Brasília); 2:30pm (Santiago)
Venue: Estadio Charrúa (Montevideo, Uruguay)
Referee: Juan Manuel León (Colombia)
Assistant Referees: Nehuen Jauri Rivero (Argentina); Simón Larrubia (Argentina)
TMO: Alejandro Longres (Uruguay)
Broadcast: ESPN (America Latina), ESPN (Brazil), Star +
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2022-03-19 –Selknam 46, Cobras 10 (Estadio Figueroa (Valparaíso, Chile)
2021-05-01 – Cobras 21, Selknam 20 (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay)
2021-04-04 – Selknam 66, Cobras 10 (Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile)
