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South America’s professional rugby competition will come to a close on Friday. In a historic occasion Peñarol play host to Selknam in the SLAR 2022 Final. The Uruguayan vs Chilean final comes following the exit of others, including Argentina’s previously unbeaten Jaguares XV.
Peñarol vs Selknam is the SLAR classic, or El Clásico. The six prior matches have come with even results – both teams have three victories. The most recent fixture saw Selknam winning 15-8 at the Estadio Charrúa, the venue of the SLAR 2022 Final.
There is a lot on the line in the SLAR 2022 Final. The winning side will officially end Argentina’s hegemony in the region. Questions are already being asked about the make-up of the roster and what to change for SLAR 2023. The players are in for an excellent opportunity to be champions; strong performances may bring with them opportunities in European leagues.
Peñarol’s players will go straight from the final into preparations for the June tour of Japan. There is pressure on the players due to some foreign-based Uruguayans being available for the Japan series.
Selknam’s players are competing for the right to take to the field in the winner-goes-to-France series in July. Los Cóndores vs Eagles will see the winner qualifying for RWC 2023 as Americas 2. Such an opportunity is very rare; in fact, it is the closest Chile has ever been to securing a spot at a Rugby World Cup.
Selknam’s team has an Uruguayan. Juan Zuccarino will play on the bench, covering fly half. He is an option to debut against Japan. With this in mind it is of note that Peñarol’s replacement fly half is Nicolás Roger. The Argentine started throughout SLAR 2021 for Los Cafeteros Pro. This year he has been the understudy to Felipe Etcheverry.
Peñarol’s back-line will be run by Etcheverry. He starts outside Tomás Inciarte; the pair may well start against Japan. Andrés Vilaseca captains the side from inside center. He and Rodrigo Silva are the veterans in the backs. Baltazar Amaya, Bautista Basso and José Maria Iruleguy all start. The trio are actively spilling the pressure on established names for Los Teros.
Up front, Peñarol are without their scrum weapon that is Diego Arbelo. Ignacio Péculo will start at tight-head. He does so alongside Juan Echeverría, and Guillermo Pujadas, two veterans from RWC 2019. Flanker Eric Dosantos starts out of position in the second-row. He is joined by Nahuel Milan, the only Argentine starting the final.
Uncapped flanker Lucas Bianchi partners RWC 2019 players Santiago Civetta, and Manuel Ardao in the back-row. Ardao was named by Americas Rugby News as the SLAR 2022 MVP.
Selknam has gone for the proven. It is a side reminiscent of that which has delivered throughout SLAR 2022, including against Peñarol. The front-row of Javier Carrasco, Tomás Dussaillant, and Matías Dittus is a powerful unit. The beef of Franco Molina, and Augusto Sarmiento join them in the front-five. Molina is the only non-Chilean starting. His season has seen him pressing for a Pumas call-up.
Chilean captain Martín Sigren and Selknam captain Ignacio Silva will be the starting flankers. They are joined by Alfonso Escobar in the back-row. It is an excellent trio, one that has performed well for Chile in recent years.
The backline will have three play-makers. Marcelo Torrelaba, and Rodrigo Fernández start at scrum half and fly half while Francisco Urroz starts at fullback. They will have finishers with Gaspar Molteo on the left wing and Luca Strabucchi at outside center. Los Garafulic’s, Matías and Nicolás start at inside center and on the right wing respectively.
The teams are highly reputable and worthy of the SLAR 2022 Final. Whoever wins on the field, there is no argument that South American rugby is moving along at a steady pace in the right direction.
TEAMS
PENAROL
1 Juan Echeverría, 2 Guillermo Pujadas, 3 Ignacio Péculo, 4 Eric Dosantos, 5 Nahuel Milán, 6 Lucas Bianchi, 7 Santiago Civetta, 8 Manuel Ardao, 9 Tomás Inciarte, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 11 Baltazar Amaya, 12 Andrés Vilaseca (capt.), 13 Bautista Basso, 14 Rodrigo Silva, 15 José Iruleguy
Replacements: 16 Emiliano Faccennini, 17 Matías Benítez, 18 Mathias Franco, 19 Diego Magno, 20 Carlos Deus, 21 Santiago Álvarez, 22 Nicolás Roger, 23 Mateo Viñals
SELKNAM
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Tomás Dussaillant, 3 Matías Dittus, 4 Franco Molina, 5 Augusto Sarmiento, 6 Martín Sigren, 7 Ignacio Silva (capt.), 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Rodrigo Fernández, 11 Gaspar Moltedo, 12 Matías Garafulic, 13 Luca Strabucchi, 14 Nicolás Garafulic, 15 Francisco Urroz
Replacements: 16 Diego Escobar 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Vittorio Lastra, 19 Santiago Pedrero, 20 Santiago Edwards, 21 Benjamín Videla, 22 Juan Zuccarino, 23 José Ignacio Larenas
Date: Friday, May 27, 2022
Venue: Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay
Kickoff: 19:00 Montevideo (18:00 Santiago)
Referee: Nehuen Jauri Rivero (Argentina)
Assistants: Francisco González (Uruguay) & Frank Méndez (Chile)
TMO: Gonzalo De Achaval (Argentina)
Broadcast: ESPN (America Latina), ESPN (Brazil), Star+
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2022-05-15 – Peñarol 8, Selknam 15 (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay)
2022-04-08 – Peñarol 31, Selknam 03 (Estadio 3 de Febero, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay)
2021-05-08 – Peñarol 17, Selknam 14 (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay)
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 13, Selknam 14 (Estadio Charrúa, Montvideo, Uruguay)
