Super Rugby America 2023 – Pampas vs Cobras – ARN Guide

Round 10 of Super Rugby Americas 2023 kick-off’s off at La Catedral in Buenos Aires on Friday. Los Pampas have home advantage against Os Cobras.

Los Pampas are riding on top of a wave of strong form. The team has won their past three Super Rugby Americas matches and is coming off an impressive win over Georgian side Black Lion.

A strong line-up has been named to face Os Cobras. Pumas Rodrigo Martínez and Eliseo Morales start at loose head prop and scrum-half respectively. The former is joins by Rodrigo Pérez Boulona and Javier Coronel in a powerful front-row.

Eliseo Fourcade gets a start in the second-row this week. He will be partnered by Rodrigo Fernández Criado who was called back from Uruguay from the Sudamérica XV. They will have the young but combative back-row trio behind them in Nicolás D’Amorim, Manuel Bernstein and Jerónimo Ureta.

Eliseo Morales will have a good opportunity to put up his hand for Los Pumas. He starts inside Joaquín de la Vega Mendía, a player on top of his game. Meanwhile, Juan Pablo Castro is back to lead the tea from inside center. He and Benjamín Elizalde give the Buenos Aires side two outstanding mid-field runners.

Os Cobras go in to the game below full-strength. The coaching staff have opted for substantial rotation. The ‘brand-new’ front-row will consist of Brazil, Spain and Argentina with Levy Marinho, Diego Vidal and Bautista Vidal starting.

Colombian Diver Ceballos will have his second start of the season. He joins Adrio de Melo and Irishman Donnacha Byrne in the back-row.

Changes to the backline see Douglas Rauth getting a start at scrum-half with Facundo Villalba dropping to the bench. Regular captain Lucas Tranquez is also to feature as a replacement. This sees Gabriel Paganini leading the team from the second-row.

The replacements also contain two debutants. Neither player was named on the Cobras roster for the season. They are prop João Lucas Marino from Jacareí and winger Augusto Fonseca from Leões de Paraisópolis. Both players are aged 21.

 

PAMPAS
1 Rodrigo Martínez, 2 Rodrigo Pérez Boulan, 3 Javier Coronel, 4 Eliseo Fourcade, 5 Rodrigo Fernández Criado, 6 Nicolás D’Amorim, 7 Manuel Bernstein, 8 Jerónimo Ureta, 9 Eliseo Morales, 10 Joaquín de la Vega Mendía, 11 Lucio Auad, 12 Juan Pablo Castro (capt.), 13 Benjamín Elizalde, 14 Iñaki Delguy, 15 Juan Landó

Replacements: 16  Matías Medrano, 17 Miguel Prince, 18 Javier Corvolán, 19 Lorenzo Collidio, 20 Eliseo Chiavassa, 21 Rafael Iriate, 22 Benjamín Grondona, 23 Joaquín Lamas

COBRAS
1 Levy Marinho, 2 Diego Vidal, 3 Bautista Vidal, 4 Ben Donald, 5 Gabriel Paganini (capt.), 6 Diver Ceballos, 7 Adrio de Melo, 8 Donnacha Byrne, 9 Douglas Rauth, 10 Lucas Spago, 11 Ariel Rodrigues, 12 Robert Tenório, 13 Victor Silva, 14 Alain Altahona, 15 Guilherme Coghueto

Replacements: 16 Alexandre Alves, 17 João Lucas Marino, 18 Henrique Ferreira, 19 Gabriel Oliveira, 20 Cléber Dias, 21 Facundo Villalba, 22 Lucas Tranquez, 23 Augusto Fonseca

 

Date: Friday, April 28
Kick-Off: 8pm (AR); 8pm (Brasília)
Venue: Club Atlético de San Isidro, Buenos Aires (AR)
Referee: Gonzalo de Achaval (AR)
Assistant Referees: Mauro Rossi (AR); Juan Maio (AR)
TMO: Maximiliano Miranda (AR)

HISTORIC RESULTS
February 19, 2023 – Cobras 21-41 Pampas (São Paulo, BR)