The race to the play-offs heats up in South America. Yacare play host to the two-time reigning champions on Saturday. Both are contenders for the Semi Finals to join Los Pampas and Los Dogos. Standing in their way is Selknam and each other. The three sides are competing for two spots to join the aforementioned Argentine teams.
CURRENT STANDINGS |
– 4-5-0 (W2) 3rd
– 4-5-0 (W2) 5th
LINE-UP CHANGES |
– 1 Ezequiel Reyes replaces Camilo Blasco
– 2 Axel Zapata replaces Ignacio Palillo
– 3 Rolando Portillo replaces Enrique Quinteros
– 12 Sebastián Urbieta replaces Ramiro Amarilla
– 13 Ramiro Amarilla moves from 12; replaces Tomás Vanni
– 5 Felipe Aliaga replaces Juan Manuel Rodríguez
– 10 Ícaro Amarilla replaces Juan Andrés Zuccarino
– 14 Joaquín Súarez replaces Gastón Mieres
CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(11) R Portillo, M Garcete, A Núñez, J González, S Urbieta, A López, R Moyano (AR), C Blasco, E Aranda, M Rodríguez Vasquez, G Bareiro
(11) – M Sanguinetti, M Franco, F Aliaga, S Civetta, L Bianchi, C Deus, JM Alonso, F Arcos Pérez, I Álvarez, M Perillo, S Álvarez
NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– T Mac Call
– JM Rodríguez, M Diana, J Zuccarino, B Basso, M Viñals, G Mieres, I Facciolo, B Amaya
NOTES |
- A win will see Peñarol move above Selknam into the Top 4.
- Yacare go in to the contest with 28 competition points; 6 more than Peñarol and Selknam.
- Mateo Rodríguez Vasquez will make his first appearance of the season for Yacare.
- Peñarol have first choice second-rower Felipe Aliaga back starting after three months.
- Uncapped Ícaro Amarillo takes the spot of Juan Andrés Zuccarino who is out for the year.
- Injuries see hooker Joaquín Myszka covering the back-row.
PREDICTION |
Indications are that Peñarol have clicked at long last. The arrival of Argentine front-rowers Leonel Oviedo and Horadio de la Mota has benefited the team substantially; the scrum can gone from a train-wreck to a locomotive. Santiago Civetta’s side is formidable on paper; yet, it comes with six starting Uruguayans who were not a part of the RWC 2023 project. ARN projects a Peñarol road victory by +9 points.
LINEUPS |
YACARE
1 Ezequiel Reyes, 2 Axel Zapata, 3 Rolando Portillo, 4 Lucio Anconetani, 5 Mariano Garcete (capt.), 6 Juan Cruz Pérez Rachel, 7 Felipe Puertas, 8 Ariel Núñez, 9 Juan Cruz Strada, 10 Joaquín Lamas, 11 Juan González, 12 Sebastián Urbieta, 13 Ramiro Amarilla, 14 Arturo López, 15 Ramiro Moyano
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Palillo, 17 Camilo Blasco, 18 Estéfano Aranda, 19 Nicolás Parada Heit, 20 Mateo Rodríguez Vasquez, 21 Gonzalo Bareiro, 22 Tomás Vanni, 23 Joaquín Mussi
PENAROL
1 Mateo Sanguinetti, 2 Leonel Oviedo, 3 Mathias Franco, 4 Manuel Rosmarino, 5 Felipe Aliaga, 6 Santiago Civetta (capt.), 7 Lucas Bianchi, 8 Carlos Deus, 9 Pedro Hoblog, 10 Ícaro Amarilla, 11 Dante Soto, 12 Juan Manuel Alonso, 13 Felipe Arcos Pérez, 14 Joaquín Súarez, 15 Ignacio Álvarez
Replacements: 16 Francisco García, 17 Mateo Perillo, 18 Horacio de la Mota, 19 Agustín Morales, 20 Joaquín Myszka, 21 Santiago Álvarez, 22 Santiago Terra, 23 Juan Bautista Hontou
MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, May 12
Venue: Héroes de Curupayty, Asunción (PY)
Kickoff: 8pm (PY); 9pm (UY)
Weather Forecast: Showers, 28°C; wind (8 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN Star +
OFFICIALS |
Referee: Juan López (AR)
Assistants: Adrian Bogado (PY); Federico Longobardi (AR)
TMO: Victor Silveira (PY)
HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (8) – Peñarol 6, Yacare 2, STREAK Yacare +1
Mar 16, 2024 – Peñarol 24-41 Yacare (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, UY)
Jun 02, 2023 – Peñarol 30-17 Yacare (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, UY)
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)