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The Semi Final bound Dogos host the American Raptors on Sunday. The match is the final fixture of the regular season for the Córdoba side. The visitors from Denver, Colorado will finish their season with road games in Córdoba, Argentina and São Paulo, Brazil.
Los Dogos head in to the game low on confidence. They were well-beaten last weekend. Yacare pulled-off one of the most notable results of Super Rugby Americas. The 45-29 reshaped the final rounds. That combined with Yacare winning in Santiago means Selknam are now eliminated as a result.
Ignacio Gandini will lead Los Dogos in to battle. He has done so in the absence of Franco Molina who is out for the season. Gandini has a team with plenty of Pumitas players. Super Rugby Americas players are to be heavily involved in Argentina’s upcoming campaign at the Junior World Championship in South Africa.
Gandini will be joined by the bright propects of front-rowers Tomás Bartolini, Boris Wenger and Octavio Filippa. The seasoned Gregorio Hernández and Lautaro Simes will lock the scrum. Simes has been one of the best second-rowers in Super Rugby Americas 2023.
Both Aitor Bildosola and Efrain Elías have performed well in the back-row for Los Dogos. They join their captain against the Raptors. Meanwhile, the backs see Agustín Moyano and Julián Hernández as the starting halves. Both have been consistent performers this season.
The Raptors will be captained by former Puma Diego Fortuny. He is to be joined in the front-row by Chilean World Cup hopeful Sebastián Otero and by Uruguayan Diego Magno in the pack. The team also contains former World Cup Pumas Lucas González Amorosino, Ramiro Moyano and Martín Landajo. They all start in the backs.
Also starting in the backs are Aki Pulu and Line Latu. Both are well-placed to be on the USA radar for test duty in the coming years. Eagles cap Ryan James starts with Latu in the back-three.
The teams met earlier this season in Denver. The highly entertaining match saw a flurry of tries from both teams. Los Dogos were 37-24 winners. The weather enabled running conditions that day and will again in Córdoba. Mild conditions are forecast.
DOGOS
1 Tomás Bartolini, 2 Boris Wenger, 3 Octavio Filippa, 4 Gregorio Hernández, 5 Lautaro Simes, 6 Aitor Bildosola, 7 Efrain Elías, 8 Ignacio Gandini (capt.), 9 Agustín Moyano, 10 Julián Hernández, 11 Ernesto Giudice, 12 Leonardo Gea Salim, 13 Faustino Sánchez, 14 Lautaro Cipriani, 15 Matero Soler
Replacements: 16 Tomás Pretz, 17 Santiago Pulella, 18 Octavio Barbatti, 19 Valentín Cabral, 20 Juan Bautista Mernes, 21 Juan Cruz Strada, 22 Juan Bautista Boronio, 23 Franco Giudice
RAPTORS
1 Sebastián Otero, 2 Diego Fortuny (capt.), 3 Ma’ake Muti, 4 Diego Magno, 5 Will Crawford, 6 Shawn Clark, 7 Tommy Clark, 8 Ronan Murphy, 9 Martín Landajo, 10 Lucas González Amorosino, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 12 Aki Pulu, 13 Cassh Maluia, 14 Ryan James, 15 Line Latu
Replacements: 16 Jack Manzo, 17 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 18 Juan Echeverría, 19 Max Dacey, 20 Mikey Grandy, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 Watson Filititonga, 23 Patrick Madden
Date: Sunday, May 21
Kick-Off: 7pm (AR); 4pm (MST)
Venue: Tala RC (Córdoba, AR)
Referee: Frank Méndez (CL)
Assistant Referees: Juan Pablo Chumbita (AR); Federico Longobardi (AR)
TMO: Gustavo Paulín (AR)
HISTORIC RESULTS
March 24, 2023 – American Raptors 24-37 Dogos (Denver, Colorado, US)
