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Os Cobras play host to Selknam on Saturday in São Paulo. The match is a pivotal fixture for both as the Brazilians are playing at home for the final time of the first half of the season. Selknam need a win to retain third place in the standings.
For Os Cobras the match is their first of the season following an away match. Os Cobras were blown apart of Peñarol last weekend. The 33-7 defeat saw the Uruguayans in complete control. They had the bonus point sealed early and saw out the result in the second-half without getting out of second gear.
Selknam are looking to bounce back. The Chileans fell to a late defeat against Los Dogos in Córdoba. That was Selknam’s first loss of Super Rugby 2023. Os Cobras are winless thus far. This may change on Saturday, however, as Os Cobras have beaten Selknam before.
The 21-20 win by Os Cobras came in 2021. It was the one win that the Brazilians claimed over Selknam in the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR). In looking for a repeat of that win, a highly changed side will start on Saturday.
Josh Reeves has made eight changes to Os Cobras‘ starting formation. Facundo Villalba returns to start at scrum-half. He will join Lucas Spago in the halves while Lucas Tranquez moves to fullback and Nicolás Cantarutti to outside center. Elsewhere in the backs, Sérgio Luna starts on the left wing. He does so with a hammer blow for the team as Daniel Lima is out for the season.
In the forwards there is no place for captain Gabriel Paganini. Instead, New Zealander Ben Donald will join Argentine Lucio Anconetani in the engine room. This also means a new leader; Tranquez will have the honor of leading the team for the first time.
Up front the scrum that was fail last weekend has been altered. Henrique Ferreira and Brendon Alves return to start against the highly regarded Chileans. Meanwhile, Irishman Donnacha Byrne starts in place of André Arruda and Matheus Cláudio replaces Colombian Diver Ceballos at flanker.
Selknam have rotated heavily. Their line-up is one that suggests that the Chileans are resting players for other matches. Put differently, Selknam are confident and could be said to be taking Os Cobras lightly. Matías Garafulic captains the much-changed side.
Garafulic will play outside center, doing so with Pablo Casas inside him. They will have a new halves pairing with Lukas Carvallo and Francisco Urroz wearing 9 and 10 respectively. Urroz makes the move from fullback to fly half. The back-three is fresh. Lucas Strabucchi will have the opportunity to play at fullback while Clemente Armstrong has a start on the right wing.
Regular forwards including Alfonso Escobar, Clemente Saavedra, and Ignacio Silva are out of the XV. Selknam’s line-up will see Pablo Huete having a chance at pressing further for World Cup selection. He joins Javier Eissmann in the second-row. The trio of Raimundo Martínez, Santiago Edwards, Ernesto Tchimino start in the back-row. All are, in theory, competing for the same spot at the World Cup.
Os Cobras will be up for this contest. The match is their fifth in as many weeks before a bye next weekend. Selkman’s rotation and home advantage are additional factors that the Brazilian side may be able to exploit.
TEAMS
COBRAS
1 Brendon Alves, 2 Endy Willian Pinheiro, 3 Henrique Ferreira, 4 Ben Donald, 5 Lucio Anconetani, 6 Cleber Dias, 7 Matheus Claudio, 8 Donnacha Byrne, 9 Facundo Villalba, 10 Lucas Spago, 11 Ariel Rodrigues, 12 Robert Tenório, 13 Nicolás Cantarutti, 14 Sergio Luna, 15 Lucas Tranquez (capt.)
Replacements: 16 Diego Vidal, 17 Levy Marinho, 18 Bautista Vidal, 19 Gabriel Paganini, 20 Gabriel Oliveira, 21 André Arruda, 22 Douglas Rauth, 23 Alain Altahona
SELKNAM
1 Salvador Lues, 2 Diego Escobar, 3 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 4 Pablo Huete, 5 Javier Eissmann, 6 Raimundo Martínez, 7 Santiago Edwards, 8 Ernesto Tchimino, 9 Lukas Carvallo, 10 Francisco Urroz, 11 Gaspar Moltedo, 12 Pablo Casas, 13 Matías Garafulic (capt.), 14 Clemente Armstrong, 15 Luca Strabucchi
Replacements: 16 Augusto Bohme, 17 Javier Carrasco, 18 Vittorio Lastra, 19 Santiago Pedrero, 20 Tomás Orchard, 21 Diego Warnken, 22 Nicolás Herreros, 23 Ignacio Silva
Date: Saturday, March 18
Kick-Off: 4pm (Brasília); 3pm (Santiago)
Venue: Estádio Nicolau Alayon, São Paulo (BR)
Referee: Tomás Bertazza (AR)
Assistant Referees: Gonzalo de Achával (AR); Lucas Saccommano (BR)
TMO: Víctor Hugo Barboza (BR)
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2022-04-29 – Selknam 33-08 Cobras (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, UY)
2022-03-19 –Selknam 46-10 Cobras (Estadio Figueroa (Valparaíso, Chile)
2021-05-01 – Cobras 21-20 Selknam (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay)
2021-04-04 – Selknam 66-10 Cobras (Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile)
