Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Following a bye round for Easter it is all systems go for Super Rugby Americas this weekend. Friday’s fixture sees Los Dogos at home against Os Cobras. It is 1st playing host to 6th in a battle with the in-form Cobras facing a team who rotated and was crushed by Black Lion.
Prior to facing Black Lion, Los Dogos were praised by Peñarol head coach Pablo Bouza. The former Puma said Los Dogos are Super Rugby level. Nonetheless, the Georgians ate Los Dogos alive in Montevideo.
Los Dogos have the engine room power of captain Franco Molina and Lautaro Simes. They have been the outstanding second-row in Super Rugby Americas 2023. They will play behind the young and aspiring front-row trio of Santiago Pulella, Boris Wenger and Octavio Filippa.
Further youth comes on the flanks with Efraín Elías and Vitor Bildosola starting. Former Olímpia Lion Ignacio Gandini starts at the back of the scrum.
The backs see the teenage sensation pairing of Agustín Moyano and Juan Bautista Baronio. They have both given Michael Cheika reasons to watch Los Dogos. Baronio has impressed to the extend that vice captain Julián Hernández remains out of position at fullback.
The replacements feature two players who will make their debuts in Super Rugby Americas. Octavio Barbatti is covering loose head prop and Juan Cruz Lovell is the understudy scrum-half. Mateo Soler starts ahead of Franco Giudice with the latter on the bench.
Os Cobras are full of confidence. The Brazilian team completed a home win over Selknam and followed it up with a road win over the American Raptors in Colorado. The latter was a slobber-knocker; quite simply the match of the season. Os Cobras then defeated the USA Hawks in an out-of-league encounter.
Argentines Bautista Vidal, Lucio Anconetani, Facundo Villalba, and Nicolás Cantarutti will all start for Os Cobras. Anconetani is in a notable battle; he starts opposite Franco Molina. Ben Donald joins Anconetani in the engine room. This allows Cleber Dias to start at flanker.
Regular André Arruda drops to the bench for this match. His place at N8 goes to Irishman Donnacha Byrne. Ben Donald starts to see four countries represented in the forwards. There is a fifth on the team with Colombia’s Alain Altahona starting on the right wing.
Altahona and Ariel Rodrigues have been an exciting wing pairing in Super Rugby Americas 2023. They will again be joined by captain Lucas Tranquez in the back-three. Tranquez will be one of four play-makers with Lucas Spago at fly half, and Villaba and Cantarutti also starting in the backs.
Los Dogos comfortably won away against Os Cobras earlier on in the season. The 31-14 victory in São Paulo was way back in round two. A lot has changed since then. Los Dogos will need to avoid the complacency which saw Selknam underestimating Os Cobras and paying the price.
TEAMS
DOGOS
1 Santiago Pulella, 2 Boris Wenger, 3 Octavio Filippa, 4 Lautaro Simes, 5 Franco Molina (capt.), 6 Aitor Bildosola, 7 Efraín Elías, 8 Ignacio Gandini, 9 Agustín Moyano, 10 Juan Bautista Baronio, 11 Lautaro Cipriani, 12 Leandro Gea Salim, 13 Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, 14 Mateo Soler, 15 Julián Hernández
REPLACEMENTS: 16 Román Pretz, 17 Octavio Barbatti, 18 Ramiro Valdés, 19 Gregório Hernández, 20 Manuel Todaro, 21 Juan Cruz Lovel, 22 Franco Giudice, 23 Agustín Segura
COBRAS
1 Brendon Alves, 2 Endy Willian Pinheiro, 3 Bautista Vidal, 4 Ben Donald, 5 Lucio Anconetani, 6 Cleber Dias, 7 Matheus Cláudio, 8 Donnacha Byrne, 9 Facundo Villalba, 10 Lucas Spago, 11 Ariel Rodrigues, 12 Robert Tenório, 13 Nicolás Cantarutti, 14 Alain Altahona, 15 Lucas Tranquez (capt.)
REPLACEMENTS: 16 Diego Vidal, 17 Alexandre Alves, 18 Henrique Ferreira, 19 Gabriel Paganini, 20 André Arruda, 21 Douglas Rauth, 22 Victor Guilherme Silva, 23 Guilherme Coghetto
DATE: Friday, April 14
KICK-OFF: 7pm (AR); 7pm (Brasília)
VENUE: Tala Rugby Club (Córdoba, AR)
REFEREE: Nehuén Jauri Rivero (AR)
ASSISTANT REFEREES: Juan Manuel López (AR); Federico Longobardi (AR)
TMO: Gustavo Paulín (AR)
BROADCAST: ESPN; Star +
HISTORIC RESULTS
February 26, 2023 – Cobras 14-31 Dogos (São Paulo, BR)
