SRA 2025 – Yacare vs Selknam – ARN Guide

Blistering heat awaits Yacare and Selknam on Saturday. The professional rugby teams from Paraguay and Chile clash in the opening round of Super Rugby Americas 2025. The SRA season is critical to both Paraguay and Chile’s preparations for the Rugby World Cup 2027 Qualifiers. They join Brazil and Uruguay in the final South American round.

 

CLUB DEBUTS

(5) – Enzo Egea Bordon, Jordi Chavez, Santiago Ruiz, Valentino di Capua, Mateo Rodríguez Vazquez

(4) – Agustín Toth, Juan Cruz Reyes, Bruno Sáez, Nahuel Debiassi

CAPPED INTERNATIONALS

(12 capped by Paraguay) – D Cabral, M Garcete, A Núñez, J González, R Amarilla, F Diez, A López, J Chavez,  LE Quinteros, G Bareiro, S Urbieta, F Paiva

(18 capped by Chile) – J Carrasco, S Donoso, I Gurruchaga, 4 S Pedrero, A Escobar, R Martínez, J Milesi,  B Videla, T Salas, N Garafulic, N Saab, D Saavedra, JC Reyes, N Aguayo, B Sáez, A Kuzmanic, M Sigren, M Torrealba

NOTABLE ABSENTEES

– Mariano Muntaner, Nicolás Parada Heit, Julián Quetglas

– Salvador Lues, Augusto Bohme, Clemente Saavedra, Matías Garafulic, Cristóbal Game

NOTES

• Yacare hold the upper hand in head-to-head contests with five wins from the previous eight meetings.
• Opportunities see Simón Donoso, Tomás Salas, Nicolás Saab, and Federico Kennedy starting for Selknam.
• Joaquín Milesi is back in Chile after playing in Europe. Martín Sigren is back from MLR.
• Both coaches have opted for dual play-makers at fly half and fullback. This comes with Valentio de Capua and Juan Cruz Reyes both playing out of position at the back.
• Twelve Yacare players are Argentines: Ramiro Amarilla, Valentino Dicapua, Joaquín Lamas, Juan Cruz Strada, Francisco Diez, Enzo Egea Bordon, Ezequiel Reyes, Santiago Ruiz, Mateo Rodríguez Vazquez, Felipe Puertas, Arturo López and Lucas Sommer.
• Santiago Ruiz is the brother of Pumas hooker Ignacio Ruiz.
• Three of Selknam’s debutants are Argentines: Agustín Toth, Juan Cruz Reyes, and Nahuel Debiassi. Reyes debuted for Chile in 2024 while Debiassi has played plenty of rugby in Chile for PWCC.

PREDICTION

Yacare were far more consistent than Selknam in 2024. The Chilean’s season was hot and cold in a mixture of brilliant and dire performances. Can Selknam maintain their focus in 2025? The team has the size in the forwards and the play making and pace required in the backs. The battle between Juan Cruz Strada and Benjamín Videla is certain to be a highlight. Selknam are favorites to win on the road in Asunción.

 

LINEUPS

YACARE
1 Daniel Cabral, 2 Axel Zapata, 3 Enzo Egea Bordon, 4 Lucas Sommer, 5 Mariano Garcete (capt.), 6 Felipe Puertas, 7 Ariel Núñez, 8 Santiago Ruiz, 9 Juan Cruz Strada, 10 Joaquín Lamas, 11 Juan González, 12 Ramiro Amarilla, 13 Francisco Diez, 14 Arturo López, 15 Valentino di Capua

Replacements: 16 Jordi Chavez, 17 Ezequiel Reyes, 18 Luís Enrique Quinteros, 19 Ramiro Parada, 20 Mateo Rodríguez Vazquez, 21 Gonzalo Bareiro, 22 Sebastián Urbieta, 23 Facundo Paiva

SELKNAM
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Simón Donoso, 3 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 4 Santiago Pedrero, 5 Agustín Toth, 6 Alfonso Escobar, 7 Raimundo Martínez, 8 Joaquín Milesi, 9 Benjamín Videla, 10 Tomás Salas, 11 Nicolás Garafulic, 12 Nicolás Saab, 13 Domingo Saavedra (capt.), 14 Federico Kennedy, 15 Juan Cruz Reyes

Replacements: 16 Norman Aguayo, 17 Nahuel Debiassi, 18 Baltazar Gurruchaga, 19 Bruno Sáez, 20 Andrés Kuzmanic, 21 Martín Sigren, 22 Marcelo Torrealba, 23 Felipe Méndez

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, February 15
Venue: Héroes de Curupayty, Asunción (PY)
Kickoff: 8pm (PY); 8pm (CL)
Weather Forecast: Excessive Heat, 39°C; Wind (14 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN; Disney +

OFFICIALS

Referee: Pablo Deluca (AR)
Assistants: Federico Solari (AR); Sergio Alvarenga (PY)
TMO: Marcos Andrés Demestri Benítez (PY)

HISTORY

HEAD-TO-HEAD (8) – Yacare 5, Selknam 3, STREAK Selknam +1

Apr 20, 2024 – Selknam 39-15 Yacare (Santiago, CL)
Feb 24, 2024 – Yacare 34-20 Selknam (Asunción, PY)
May 20, 2023 – Selknam 19-20 Yacare (Santiago, CL)
Apr 01, 2023 – Yacare 21-11 Selknam (Asunción, PY)
Apr 23, 2002 – Selknam 41-19 Olímpia Lions (Montevideo, UY)
Mar 13, 2022 – Selknam 20-22 Olímpia Lions (Valparaíso, Chile)
Apr 16, 2021 – Olímpia Lions 24-21 Selknam (Montevideo, Uruguay)
Mar 16, 2021 – Selknam 29-16 Olímpia Lions (Santiago, Chile)