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The eighth round of Super Rugby Americas 2024 will conclude in Córdoba, Argentina on Sunday. The final fixture sees the top of the table, Dogos taking-on the bottom of the table Cobras. Despite this fact, Os Cobras go in to the match on the back of an away win over the reigning champions, Peñarol. Can Os Cobras complete another upset?
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
6-0-1 (W2) 1st
2-5-0 (W1) Last
| LINEUP CHANGES |
3 Pedro Delgado replaces Octavio Filippa
14 Mateo Soler moves from fullback to wing; replaces Lautaro Cipriani
15 Agustín de Vertíz replaces Mateo Soler
4 Ben Donald replaces Franco Carrera
5 Gabriel Oliveira replaces Gabriel Paganini
6 Franco Carrera moves from lock to flanker; replaces Rafael Teixeira
8 Adrio de Melo replaces André Arruda
10 Lucas Tranquez replaces João Amaral
11 Widson Menezes replaces Ariel Rodrigues
14 Victor Souza replaces Agustín Llano
15 Agustín Llano returns from wing to fullback; replaces Luca Mignot
| SUPER RUGBY AMERICAS DEBUTS |
(0)
(1) – Widson Menezes (Pro debut)
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(0)
(16) H Ferreira, B Donald, G Oliveira, C Dias, A de Melo, F Gonçalves, L Tranquez, R Tenório, V Souza, EW Pinheiro, L Marinho, G Paganini, A Arruda, R Texeira, D Lima, J Amaral
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Erfraín Elías, Ernesto Giudice
– Brendon Alves, Matheus Cláudio, Douglas Rauth, Lucas Spago, Alain Altahona (CO)
| NOTES |
- Cleber Dias resumes as Cobras captain with Gabriel Paganini dropping to the replacements.
- Juan Manuel Martinez will make his Super Rugby Americas refereeing debut.
- Los Dogos are unbeaten in the three prior matches between the teams.
- Os Cobras are looking for their first ever win in Argentina.
- All 23 Dogos players were born and raised in Argentina. In other words, it is a 100% homegrown side.
- Four Argentines start for Os Cobras. They are Luciano Gabellieri, Francisco Moreno, Franco Carrera, and Agustín Llano.
- New Zealander Ben Donald is capped by Brazil while Frenchman Carlo Mignot should debut in July.
| PREDICTION |
Los Dogos are yet to lose a match all season. Home advantage in Córdoba will add to the formidable task facing Os Cobras. The Brazilians take with them their away win over Peñarol but the team has seen considerable changes. The rugby being played by the Córdoba side is arguably the best in the league. The forwards are able to win the collisions and the decision making combined with finishing capabilities make the team a force in SRA 2024. ARN projects Los Dogos to win by a margin of 25+ points.
| LINEUPS |
DOGOS
1 Boris Wenger, 2 Tomás Bartolini, 3 Pedro Delgado, 4 Lautaro Simes, 5 Franco Molina (capt.), 6 Aitor Bilosola, 7 Lorenzo Colidio, 8 Valentin Cabral, 9 Agustín Moyano, 10 Julián Hernández, 11 Nahuel Romero, 12 Leonardo Gea Salim, 13 Felipe Mallía, 14 Mateo Soler, 15 Agustín de Vertiz
Replacements: 16 Santos Juárez, 17 Juan Aguirre, 18 Octavio Filippa, 19 Felipe Villagrán, 20 Facundo García Hamilton, 21 Nicolás Viola, 22 Juan Bautista Baronio, 23 Agustín Segura
COBRAS
1 Luciano Gabellieri, 2 Henrique Ferreira, 3 Francisco Moreno, 4 Ben Donald, 5 Gabriel Oliveira, 6 Franco Carrera, 7 Cleber Dias (capt.), 8 Adrio de Melo, 9 Felipe Gonçalves, 10 Lucas Tranquez, 11 Widson Nascimento, 12 Roberto Tenório, 13 Carlo Mignot, 14 Victor Souza, 15 Agustín Llano
Replacements: 16 Endy Willian Pinheiro, 17 Levy Marinho, 18 Nicolás Alkmin, 19 Gabriel Paganini, 20 André Arruda, 21 Rafael Texeira, 22 Daniel Lima 23 João Amaral
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, April 21
Venue: Tala RC (Córdoba, AR)
Kickoff: 8pm (AR); 8pm (Brasília)
Weather Forecast: Partly Cloudy, 24°C; wind S (8 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN; Star +
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Juan Manuel Martinez (AR)
Assistants: Juan Lopez (AR); Nerea Livoni (AR)
TMO: Santiago Corvalán (AR)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (3) Dogos (0), Cobras (0); Streak: Dogos (3)
Feb 24, 2024 – Cobras 06-29 Dogos (Jacareí, BR)
Apr 14, 2023 – Dogos 45-29 Cobras (Córdoba, AR)
Feb 26, 2023 – Cobras 14-31 Dogos (São Paulo, BR)
