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The final match of the regular season is the battle to avoid the wooden spoon. Os Cobras have home advantage against the American Raptors. There are so many reasons to watch this match. Above all else their contest in Denver earlier this season was a slobber-knocker.
Os Cobras will take the field in São Paulo as if it were a test match. Head Coach Josh Reeves has named a highly different line-up for this fixture. All but one of the starting XV are either Brazilian or Brazilian eligible.
The front-row of Levy Marinho, Endy Willian Pinheiro and Henrique Ferreira are all Brazilian test players as is Gabriel Paganini who will captain Os Cobras from the second-row. He will be partnered by New Zealander Ben Donald who is expected to debut for Brazil in 2023.
The back-row if entirely home-grown. Adrio de Melo and Matheus Cláudio play on the side of the scrum with the big André Arruda playing N8. Simply put, the starting forwards could be identical to that to start for Brazil.
The halves see Douglas Rauth in combination with Lucas Spago. This is also a formation that Brazil would be looking at to face Colombia or Pargaguay in addition to the World Cup bound Chile or Uruguay.
The one player not eligible for Brazil in the XV is Alain Altahona. The Colombian will play on the left wing. Altahona has had an excellent season for Os Cobras. He will join Victor Silva, Robson Morais, Ariel Rodrigues and Daniel Lima in the backs.
The American Raptors have a settled line-up. Former Puma Diego Fortuny leads the side from hooker. He will be joined by the big duo of props Payton Telea-Ilalio and Ma’ake Muti. Will Crawford has had a solid season as has Uruguayan Diego Magno. They will lock the scrum. The back-row sees the trio of Shawn Clark, Tommy Clark and Ronan Murphy in formation.
At scrum-half Ethan McVeigh returns to replace Martín Landajo. McVeigh will play inside Lucas González Amorosino. The former Pumas winger has been highly reliable throughout Super Rugby Americas 2023 at fly half. Another former Puma, Ramiro Moyano, starts on the left wing.
Meanwhile, there are spots for names that may become increasingly familiar to Eagles supporters sooner rather than later. Aki Pulu and Watson Filikitonga start as the centers, Ryan James on the right wing and Line Latu at fullback.
The 43-40 match in Denver truly was a spectacle. That result gave Os Cobras a sniff at the play-off’s. It was not to be, however. The São Paulo match is about ending Super Rugby Americas 2023 on a high. Nobody wants to win the wooden spoon.
COBRAS
1 Levy Marinho, 2 Endy Willian Pinheiro, 3 Henrique Ferreira, 4 Gabriel Paganini (capt.), 5 Ben Donald, 6 Adrio de Melo, 7 Matheus Cláudio, 8 André Arruda, 9 Douglas Rauth, 10 Lucas Spago, 11 Alain Altahona, 12 Victor Silva, 13 Robson Morais, 14 Ariel Rodrigues, 15 Daniel Lima
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Silva, 17 Alexandre Alves, 18 Bautista Vidal, 19 Gabriel Oliveira, 20 Donnacha Byrne, 21 Felipe Gonçalves, 22 Facundo Villalba, 23 Sérgio Luna
RAPTORS
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 2 Diego Fortuny (capt.), 3 Ma’ake Muti, 4 Diego Magno, 5 Will Crawford, 6 Shawn Clark, 7 Tommy Clark, 8 Ronan Murphy, 9 Ethan McVeigh, 10 Lucas González Amorosino, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 12 Aki Pulu, 13 Watson Filikitonga, 14 Ryan James, 15 Line Latu
Replacements: 16 Jack Manzo, 17 Sebastian Otero, 18 Juan Echeverría, 19 Max Dacey, 20 Tavius Sykora-Matthess, 21 Martín Landajo, 22 Cassh Maluia, 23 Patrick Madden
Date: Sunday, May 28
Kick-Off: 12pm (Brasília); 9am (MST)
Venue: Estadio Nicolau Alayon, São Paulo
Referee: Simón Larrubia (AR)
Assistant Referees: Lucas Saccommano (AR); Nehuén Jauri Rivero (AR)
TMO: Victor Hugo Barboza (BR)
Broadcast: ESPN; Star +
HISTORIC RESULTS
April 02, 2023 – Raptors 40-43 Cobras (Denver, Colorado, US)
