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The Quarter Finals are now booked for the European Champions and Challenge Cup tournaments. Confirmation of who plays who confirms which clubs containing Argentine players will be a part of the Quarter Finals.
The final eight in the Challenge Cup are Gloucester, Ospreys, Clermont, Ulster, Sharks, Edinburgh, Benetton and Connacht. Five of the eight are home to Pumas. English club Gloucester has four: Matías Alemanno, Santiago Carreras, Santiago Socino and Mayco Vivas. Gloucester take-on the Ospreys on Friday, April 12.
The two Saturday Quarter Finals will be Clermont vs Ulster in a Top 14 vs URC match and the Sharks vs Edinburgh in an all-URC match. Clermont also has four Pumas: Marcos Kremer, Tomás Lavanini, Bautista Delguy, and Benjamín Urdapilleta. Pumas winger Emiliano Boffelli plays for Edinburgh.
Benetton has the most Argentines, though. The side based in Treviso, Italy has Pumas loose head props Thomas Gallo and Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, uncapped hooker Bautista Bernasconi, winger Ignacio Mendy and centers Juan Ignacio Brex and Joaquín Riera. Brex is capped by Italy and won two Player of the Match awards in the recent Six Nations. Santiago Cordero is on the Connacht roster.
The Champions Cup will have three Quarter Finals on Saturday and one on Sunday. Bordeaux vs the harlequins will be a Top 14 vs English Premiership match. Guido Petti will take to the field for the French side.
Two-time defending champions, La Rochelle take on Leinster in Ireland on Saturday. La Rochelle’s two titles included Joel Sclavi. The Puma is now targeting a third European Championship Cup title.
Sunday’s Semi Final will be Toulouse at home against the Exeter Chiefs. The French Top 14 vs English Premiership battle will potentially see Juan Cruz Mallía and Santiago Chocobares both defending the colors of Toulouse. Also set to be in the running is USA prop David Ainu’u.
