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An intriguing Super Rugby Americas match will take place in São Paulo, Brazil on Sunday. Os Cobras play host to Los Dogos in a match between teams from Brazil and Argentina. It is to be the first meeting between these teams in what is the fourth year since Brazil joined professional rugby.
Os Cobras had their moments in their opening Super Rugby Americas 2023 fixture. The Brazilian side was beaten 41-21 at home by Los Pampas. The match had plenty of action and plenty of cards; two Cobras players were red carded.
The red carded Adrio de Melo is the one forward who started against against Los Pampas who will not start against Los Dogos. Veteran Cleber Dias replaces de Melo on the side of the scrum. Second-rower Lucio Anconetani is the only non-Brazilian starting forward.
There are more Argentines in the backs. They include Facundo Villalba who replaces Douglas Rauth at scrum-half. Villalba is from Córdoba and will be up against many players he knows well. Fellow Córdoba back Nicolás Cantarutti is retained at outside center.
Additional changes see Daniel Lima moving from fullback to the left wing and Guilherme Coghuetto starting at the back. Victor Silva replaces the suspended Robert Tenório at inside center. It will be a significant opportunity for the up-and-coming Brazilian player.
Dogos Head Coach Nicolás Martín Galatro has made two changes to his run-on team. They see Valentín Soler Filloy and Agustín Segura replaced by Ernesto Giudice and Faustino Sánchez Valarolo on the left wing and at outside center respectively.
The replacements see further changes. There are opportunities for Juan Bautista Mernes, Juan Bautista Baronio, and Mariano García Ascarate. The team will again be captained by Argentina XV second-row Franco Molina.
Los Dogos are looking for back-to-back wins in their inaugural season. First up, the rookie franchise were pushed by Yacare in a competitive match in Córdoba. In theory this fixture is an easier one for both teams than their respective opening round matches.
Torrential rain is forecast for São Paulo over the weekend. The same occurred prior to last weekend’s match between Os Cobras and Los Pampas. The went and muddy conditions had a significant impact on play.
TEAMS
COBRAS
1 Levy Marinho, 2 Endy Willian Pinheiro, 3 Henrique Ferreira, 4 Lucio Anconetani, 5 Gabriel Paganini (capt.), 6 Cleber Dias, 7 Matheus Cláudio, 8 André Arruda, 9 Facundo Villalba, 10 Lucas Tranquez, 11 Daniel Lima, 12 Victor Silva, 13 Nicolás Cantarutti, 14 Ariel Rodrigues, 15 Guilherme Coghuetto
Replacements: 16 Alexandre Alves, 17 Leonardo Silva, 18 Joel Ramirez, 19 Ben Donald, 20 Diver Ceballos, 21 Donnacha Byrne, 22 Douglas Rauth, 23 Alain Altahona
DOGOS
1 Santiago Pulella, 2 Boris Wenger, 3 Octavio Filippa, 4 Gregorio Hernández, 5 Franco Molina (capt.), 6 Aitor Bildosola, 7 Efraín Elías, 8 Ignacio Gandini, 9 Juan Cruz Strada, 10 Valentino Dicapua, 11 Ernesto Giudice, 12 Leonardo Gea Salim, 13 Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, 14 Mateo Soler, 15 Franco Giudice
Replacements: 16 Román Pretz, 17 Mateo Núñez Miserez, 18 Ramiro Valdés Irribarren, 19 Federico Albrisi, 20 Juan Bautista Mernes, 21 Agustín Moyano, 22 Juan Bautista Baronio, 23 Mariano García Ascarte
Date: Sunday, February 26
Kick-Off: 3:00pm (Brasília); 3:00pm (Córdoba)
Venue: Nicolau Alayon, São Paulo (BR)
Referee: Frank Méndez (CL)
Assistant Referees: Guilherme Zaparoli (BR); Gonzalo Ventoso (UY)
TMO: Alejandro Longres (UY)
HISTORICAL RESULTS
N/A
