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The business end of Super Rugby Americas 2023 has arrived. Reigning South American champions Peñarol play host to Yacare in the first Semi Final. The Uruguayan vs Paraguayan team battle promises to provide plenty of action and thrilling rugby.
Peñarol were the best team from the regular season. The Uruguayans’ results were 10-2 and won both matches against Yacare. Their two defeats were both against Los Pampas. The Buenos Aires side will face Los Dogos in Córdoba in the second Semi Final.
Pablo Bouza’s side to face Yacare is very strong. Every player named to start is on the radar for World Cup selection. Veteran loose head Mateo Sanguinetti starting with Guillermo Pujadas and Ignacio Peculo in the front-row. Peculo is preferred to Diego Arbelo which raises eyebrows as to who is ahead of who.
Ignacio Dotti has overcome his injury to be back starting alongside Felipe Aliaga in the second-row. Both men are within the regular range of the height for second-rowers. This is of note given that two flankers were selected as second-rowers for RWC 2019.
Starting flanker from RWC 2019, Santiago Civetta remains out of action. He is now fit again but has missed all of Super Rugby Americas 2023. Manuel Ardao captains the side from flanker. Super Rugby Americas 2023 MVP Manuel Diana starts at N8 and the rapidly developing Carlos Deus completes the back-row trio. In relation to the earlier point, Deus started at second-row against Japan in 2022.
Santiago Álvarez and Felipe Etcheverry have been the regular halves duo all season. Etcheverry will again have the support of fellow play-maker Juan Andrés Zuccarino from inside center. It is a notable move given Uruguay’s World Cup planning.
Speedster Juan Manuel Alonso starts in the back-three as does veteran Rodrigo Silva as does newcomer Alfonso Silva. Gastón Mieres misses out following his early exit against Selknam. 2022 scrum-half Tomás Inciarte will play at outside center. He was Uruguay’s second-choice 13 at RWC 2013 and third choice 9.
Yacare have named a powerful forward pack to combat Peñarol. Puma Lucas Noguera Paz and Facundo Pomponio will provide a stern test for the Uruguayan front-row. It is an all-Argentine front-row with Julián Martín joining them. Martín, though, is eligible to play for Paraguay.
Lucas Sommer arrived late in the season from Buenos Aires and fit in well. He joins Paraguay’s leading player this year, Mariano Garcete, in the second-row. Argentines Juan Pérez Rachel and Felipe Puertas will be joined by Paraguayan Marcos Riquelme in the back-row.
The team is again led from scrum-half by Ignacio Inchauspe. His outstanding season may see him called-up to Los Pumas. Federico Cacciabue will play opposite Etcheverry and play inside Colombian Juan David Agudelo. Paraguayan Juan González plays on one wing while Argentine-Paraguayan Ramiro Amarilla starts at outside center. Both are expected to play for Paraguay in the coming months.
The teams line-up as competitive units. Peñarol has had a solid set-piece all season. Of note, however, is that Yacare has had a dominant scrum in recent rounds. The lineout to maul trick has also been highly successful with tries coming from the advancing maul.
A win for Peñarol will see a home final. If Yacare can cause an upset then they will travel to Argentina to face the winner of Los Dogos vs Los Pampas in the 2023 Super Rugby Americas Final.
PENAROL
1 Mateo Sanguinetti, 2 Guillermo Pujadas, 3 Ignacio Peculo, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 5 Felipe Aliaga, 6 Manuel Ardao, 7 Carlos Deus, 8 Manuel Diana, 9 Santiago Álvarez, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 11 Juan Manuel Alonso, 12 Juan Andrés Zuccarino, 13 Tomás Inciarte, 14 Alfonso Silva, 15 Rodrigo Silva
Replacements: 16 Emiliano Facceninni, 17 Mateo Perillo, 18 Diego Arbelo, 19 Agustín Morales, 20 Juan Manuel Rodríguez, 21 Juan Francisco Torres, 22 Guillermo Storace, 23 Santiago del Cerro
YACARE
1 Lucas Noguera Paz, 2 Julián Martín, 3 Facundo Pomponio, 4 Lucas Sommer, 5 Mariano Garcete, 6 Juan Pérez Rachel, 7 Felipe Puertas, 8 Marcos Riquelme, 9 Ignacio Inchauspe (capt.), 10 Federico Cacciabue, 11 Juan González, 12 Juan David Agudelo, 13 Ramiro Amarilla, 14 Tomás Acosa Pimentel, 15 Nicolás Picasso
Replacements: 16 Emilio Gorostiaga, 17 Camilo Blasco, 18 Rolando Portillo, 19 Ignacio Martínez, 20 Carlos Plate, 21 Estanislao Pregot, 22 Sebastián Urbieta, 23 Estanislao Gómez
Date: Friday, June 02
Kick-Off: 7:30pm (UY); 6:30pm (PY)
Venue: Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo (UY)
Referee: Damian Schneider (AR)
Assistant Referees: Frank Made (CL); Nehuén Jauri Rivero (AR)
TMO: Lucas Galán (AR)
HISTORIC RESULTS
Apr 15, 2023 – Yacare 17-43 Peñarol (Héroes de Curupayty, Asunción, PY)
Mar 17, 2023 – Peñarol 45-12 Yacare (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, UY)
May 04, 2022 – Peñarol 42-14 Olímpia Lions (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, UY)
Mar 27, 2022 – Olímpia Lions 15-13 Peñarol (Héroes de Curupayty, Asunción, PY)
Apr 11, 2021 – Peñarol 29-10 Olímpia Lions (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, UY)
Mar 16, 2021 – Olímpia Lions 11-40 Peñarol (Estadio Nacional, Santiago, CL)
