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Friday night will see a pivotal fixture in Super Rugby Americas 2023. Los Dogos play host to Los Pampas in Córdoba. The Argentine derby is officially 2nd at home against 3rd. It is much more than that, though as there are one-on-one battles that Argentine selectors and supporters have plenty to watch out for.
Los Dogos are already assured of a spot in the play-off’s. The team wants more though; they want to play their Semi Final in Córdoba. They go into the final stages of the season with new leadership. Franco Molina is out for the rest of the season and will not be available for consideration for the World Cup.
Ignacio Gandini will captain Los Dogos from the back of the scrum. Molina’s spot in the second-row will be occupied by Gregorio Hernández. It is a big opportunity for Hernández who has been a benchwarmer throughout the season. Federico Albrisi now has a chance to get game-time as a replacement.
Gandini will be in charge of a team that sees fourteen of the same starting names to that which won last round away to Selknam in Chile. Other than Hernández in for Molina the other alterations are on the replacements; the benefactors are Federico Altri and Valentín Cabral.
Los Pampas are in 3rd spot on the table but are one of the two form-teams. The Buenos Aires side hammered Os Cobras last round. Having eaten Os Cobras alive Ignacio Fernández Lobbe’s side now want revenge for their loss at home against Los Dogos earlier in the season.
Javier Coronel has an opportunity in Córdoba. The prop will have his first start of Super Rugby Americas 2023. He replaces Javier Corvolán at tight head. Elsewhere Lorenzo Colidio replaces Rodrigo Fernández Criado in the second-row and Jerónimo Ureta moves from 8 to flanker with Manuel Bernstein dropping to the replacements. Santiago Ruiz comes back to wear the 8 shirt and and the captain’s armband.
Los Pampas have an unchanged backs formation. 2022 rookie Puma Eliseo Morales remains at scrum-half. Every player joining him will be in discussion for international honors sooner rather than later for the Argentina XV.
It should be noted that this match is very much a semi-trial match for the Argentina XV. Many players from Super Rugby Americas will wear the Argentina XV shirt against RWC bound Chile and Uruguay in several months time. There are a number of individual battles of note. Morales vs Agustín Moyano at scrum-half and Nicolás D’Amorim up against Aitor Bildosola are ARN’s picks.
DOGOS
1 Tomás Bartolini, 2 Boris Wenger, 3 Octavio Ignacio Filippa, 4 Lautaro Simes, 5 Gregorio Hernández, 6 Aitor Bildosola, 7 Efráin Elías, 8 Ignacio Gandini (capt.), 9 Agustín Moyano, 10 Julián Hernández, 11 Ernesto Giudice, 12 Leonardo Gea Salim, 13 Agustín Segura, 14 Lautaro Cipriani, 15 Mateo Soler
Replacements: 16 Roman Pretz, 17 Octavio Barbatti, 18 Ramiro Valdes Iribarren, 19 Federico Albrisi, 20 Valentín Cabral, 21 Juan Cruz Strada, 22 Juan Bautista Baronio, 23 Faustino Sánchez Valarolo
PAMPAS
1 Rodrigo Martínez, 2 Rodrigo Pérez Boulan, 3 Javier Corvolán, 4 Eliseo Fourcade, 5 Lorenzo Colidio, 6 Nicolás D’Amorim, 7 Jerónimo Ureta, 8 Santiago Ruiz (capt.), 9 Eliseo Morales, 10 Joaquín de la Vega Mendía, 11 Lucio Auad, 12 Juan Pablo Castro, 13 Benjamín Elizalde, 14 Iñaki Delguy, 15 Juan Landó
Replacements: 16 Ramiro Gurovich, 17 Matías Medrano, 18 Javier Coronel, 19 Manuel Bernstein, 20 Eliseo Chiavassa, 21 Mateo Albanese, 22 Joaquín Lamas, 23 Felipe de la Vega
Date: Friday, May 05
Kick-Off: 7pm (AR)
Venue: Tala RC (Córdoba, AR)
Referee: Damien Schneider (AR)
Assistant Referees: Simón Larrubia (AR); Juan Manuel López (AR)
TMO: Marcelo Pilara (AR)
Broadcast: ESPN; Star +
HISTORIC RESULTS
March 16, 2023 – Pampas 11-29 Dogos (Buenos Aires, AR)
