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Two semi finalists from Super Rugby Americas 2023 clash in the opening round of Super Rugby Americas 2024. Yacare will have home advantage in Asunción, Paraguay on Saturday against the Buenos Aires based Pampas.
Paraguay’s Mr. Consistent is Mariano Garcete. Now a veteran of Super Rugby Americas, Garcete is the team captain for 2024. Ignacio Martínez partners him in the engine room. Argentina XV hooker Axel Zapata joins Enrique Quinteros and the Paraguayan capped Argentine Ezequiel Reyes in the front-row.
An all former Argentina u20 back-row will start together. Juan Pérez Rachel, Felipe Puertas, and Nicolás Parada Heit will be the loose forward trio.
The backline sees Juan Cruz Strada making his Yacare debut. he made the transfer this season from Los Dogos. Also debuting is Juan Molinuevo who is a former 7’s player for Argentina. The same applies to winger Tomás Vanni. Meanwhile, Paraguayans Juan González, and Sebastián Urbieta start on the left wing and at outside center.
Los Pampas will have an ace up their sleeve in the form of former Yacare scrum-half Ignacio Inchauspe. He makes his debut for Los Pampas, doing so opposite Juan Cruz Strada. Former captain Joaquín de la Vega Mendía will pull the strings from fly half.
Juan Pablo Castro offers experience in the mid-field. He will be in company of newcomers including the debuting back-three of Bernabé López Fleming, Santiago Pernas, and Marcos Eliçagaray.
Former Cobras forward Manuel Bernstein has risen through the ranks to now be captain. Bernstein will have the experienced Santiago Montagner joining him in the back-row. Javier Coronel and Eliseo Fourcade are now veterans in the league and both also start. Pumita Marcelo Toledo has earned a start in the second-row.
The teams have played each other in one way or another since the inaugural Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) in 2020. It was first as Los Ceibos against the Olímpia Lions. Los Jaguares XV replaced Ceibos before Los Pampas and Los Dogos arrived as Argentina’s teams for Super Rugby Americas 2023.
The Paraguayan team has fallen every time against the Argentine side. There have been some significant margins; however, the most recent result was highly competitive. Los Pampas won 25-24 at the death in Buenos Aires last May.
YACARE
1 Ezequiel Reyes, 2 Axel Zapata, 3 Enrique Quinteros, 4 Ignacio Martínez, 5 Mariano Garcete (capt.), 6 Juan Pérez Rachel, 7 Felipe Puertas, 8 Nicolás Parada Heit, 9 Juan Cruz Strada, 10 Juan Molinuevo, 11 Juan González, 12 Ramiro Amarilla, 13 Sebastián Urbieta, 14 Tomás Vanni, 15 Tomás Mac Call
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Palillo, 17 Camilo Blasco, 18 Rodolfo Rivadeneira, 19 Lucio Anconetami, 20 Ariel Nuñez, 21 Diego Miño, 22 Joaquín Lamas, 23 Arturo López
PAMPAS
1 Matías Medrano, 2 Ramiro Gurovich, 3 Javier Coronel, 4 Eliseo Fourcade, 5 Marcelo Toledo, 6 Manuel Bernstein (capt.), 7 Santiago Montagner, 8 Joaquín Moro, 9 Ignacio Inchauspe, 10 Joaquín de la Vega Mendía, 11 Bernabé López Fleming, 12 Justo Piccardo, 13 Juan Pablo Castro, 14 Santiago Pernas, 15 Marcos Eliçagaray
Replacements: 16 Valentino Minoyetti, 17 Nahuel Zunnini, 18 Javier Corvalán, 19 Mateo Loreno, 20 Nicolás D’Amorim, 21 Tomás Di Biase, 22 Bruno Heit, 23 Benjamin Elizalde
Date: Saturday, February 17
Kick-Off: 7pm (PY); 7pm (AR)
Venue: Héroes de Curupayty, Asunción (PY)
Referee: Damián Schneider
Assistant Referees: Adrián Bobado; Gonzalo de Achával
TMO: Víctor Silvero
Broadcast: ESPN; Star +
HISTORIC RESULTS
May 26, 2003 – Pampas 25-24 Yacare (Buenos Aires, AR)
March 24, 2023 – Yacare 5-22 Pampas (Asunción, PY)
April 29, 2002 – Jaguares XV 41-21 Olímpia Lions (Montevideo, UY)
March 19, 2022 – Jaguares XV 49-22 Olímpia Lions (Valparaíso, CL)
May 08, 2021 – Olímpia Lions 17-29 Jaguares XV (Montevideo, UY)
April 26, 2021 – Olímpia Lions 26-40 Jaguares XV (Montevideo, UY)
March 30, 2021 – Jaguares XV 71-13 Olímpia Lions (Santiago, CL)
March 06, 2020 – Ceibos 48-08 Olímpia Lions (Córdoba, AR)
