SRA Semi Finals Picture Shaken Up as Selknam overcome Pampas

The Super Rugby Americas Semi Finals pictures has been shaken up. Selknam went to Buenos Aires and conquered La Catedral. The 23-19 win was a comeback victory; Los Pampas held a 13-0 lead well in the first-half.

Early play favored Selknam. Francisco Urroz lined-up a penalty but was unsuccessful. Los Pampas quickly rebounded and were on top in rapid-fire fashion. Iñaki Delguy ran in a 12th minute try to open the scoring. Joaquín de la Vega Mendía slotted conversion.

Los Pampas’ home supporters had plenty to cheer about as de la Vega Mendía added two penalties to make it a 13-0 advantage after 27 minutes. The remainder of the match was back-and-forth with both teams gaining momentum at different times.

Man of the match Clemente Saavedra scored Selknam’s first points. He charged down a clearance kick from fullback Juan Landó to score. Urroz made no mistake with the conversion. With a snap of the fingers the game then turned on its head. Selknam scored through Augusto Bohme from a lineout to maul drive.

With Urroz on target again Selknam were back from 13-0 down to now hold a 14-13 lead. It remained as such until the second-half. All scoring in the second-half was from goal-kicking. Selknam won the dual by three to two.

The second-half started with both teams going beyond the discipline threshold. Raimundo Martínez was yellow carded for an exaggerated response to Eliseo Morales from the floor. Minutes later Morales was yellow carded for cynically blocking Santiago Videla chasing his own kick.

The play from Morales will not have impressed Michael Cheika. Morales debuted for Los Pumas under Cheika in 2022. Despite injuries to other players, Morales’ spot in 2023 appears to be in doubt. de la Vega Mendía and Urroz exchanged penalties from the respective yellow cards.

de la Vega Mendía was on target again to give Los Pampas a 19-17 lead after 53 minutes. The lead came with Puma Rodrigo Martínez being forced off following a nasty twist to his leg. Urroz was then forced off for Selknam with a knee injury.

The loss of Urroz saw a new dimension to Selknam’s attack. Rodrigo Fernández came on to play fullback and fly half in tandem with Videla. The man wearing 15 took over the goal-kicking. There was a territory battle going on. The forwards enjoyed it greatly and Selknam used it to claw their way back in front.

Videla put Selknam ahead with a penalty to close out the third quarter. Los Pampas came close to scoring in response with a try. Selknam, though, held firm. Their defensive try zone would not be breached. Videla landed a late penalty to make it a four point lead. Selknam then won the kick-off and played out several phases before Marcelo Torrealba booted the ball into La Catedral for victory.

With the win in Buenos Aires Selknam have closed the gap on the 4th placed Yacare. Selknam’s remaining matches are at home against Yacare and away to Peñarol. They represent a pathway for Selknam to secure a place in the Semi Finals. Los Pampas remain in third spot but appear safe. Los Pampas face Peñarol and Yacare in their remaining regular season matches.

 

SCORING

PAMPAS (19)
Try – I Delguy (12′)
Con – J de la Vega Mendía 1/1 (12′)
Pen – J de la Vega Mendía 4/5 (22′, 27′, 45′, 53′)
YC – E Morales (49′)

SELKNAM (23)
Try – C Saavedra (28′); A Bohme (36′)
Con – F Urroz 2/2 (29′, 37′)
Pen – F Urroz 1/2 (49′); S Videla 2/2 (58′, 78′)
YC – R Martínez (45′)

 

TEAMS

PAMPAS
1 Rodrigo Martínez, 2 Ramiro Gurovich, 3 Javier Coralán, 4 Manuel Bernstein, 5 Eliseo Fourcade, 6 Eliseo Chiavassa, 7 Jerónimo Ureta, 8 Santiago Ruiz (capt.), 9 Eliseo Morales, 10 Joaquín de la Vega Mendía, 11 Benjamín Elizalde, 12 Felipe de la Vega, 13 Juan Pablo Castro, 14 Iñaki Delguy, 15 Juan Landó

Replacements: 16 Rodrigo Pérez Boulan, 17 Matías Medrano, 18 Renzo Zanella, 19 Nicolás D’Amorim, 20 Franco Carrera, 21 Mateo Albanese, 22 Benjamín Grondona, 23 Lucio Auad

SELKNAM
1 Vittorio Lastra, 2 Augusto Bohme, 3 Esteban Inostroza, 4 Clemente Saavedra, 5 Pablo Huete, 6 Alfonso Escobar, 7 Raimundo Martínez, 8 Joaquín Milesi, 9 Nicolás Herreros, 10 Francisco Urroz, 11 Cristóbal Game, 12 Pablo Casas, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 14 Nicolás Garafulic, 15 Santiago Videla (capt.)

Replacements: 16 Diego Escobar, 17 Simón Donoso, 18 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 19 Santiago Pedrero, 20 Ignacio Silva, 21 Marcelo Torrealba, 22 Rodrigo Fernández, 23 José Ignacio Larenas

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Pablo Deluca (AR)
Assistant Referees: Tomás Bertazza (AR); Luca Solda (AR)
TMO: Maximilano Miranda (AR)