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The 2018 Americas Rugby Championship continues on Saturday with Chile and Brazil seeing their first action of the competition. Uruguay upset Canada in Vancouver to get things started last weekend and a similarly entertaining match between two close competitors is expected at the Estadio de la Pintana.
Chile have a new coach in New Zealander Mark Cross who takes over for caretaker Raúl Marin, who took charge of the Cóndores for their November tour after Bernard Charreyre who departed in controversial circumstances last October. As a result there are three uncapped players in the squad but also, as usual, several senior players absent.
World Rugby u20 Trophy captain Alfonso Escobar wins his first senior cap in the place of absent Anton Petrowitsch. Escobar was outstanding in that tournament and finds himself among three of his u20 teammates. Santiago Videla continues at flyhalf after debuting in November with loose forward Nicolás Garafulic and midfielder Lucca Avelli ready to take their first senior steps as replacements.
With both Ramón Ayarza and Claudio Zamorano unavailable it’s promising Italy-based professional Vittorio Lastra who gets the start at loosehead prop. New Orleans Gold signing Nikola Bursic and firmly established Mario Mayol partner once again with increasingly influential José Tomás Munita anchoring a very solid tight five. Javier Richard and former skipper Benjamín Soto add experience beside Escobar in a small but aggressive back row unit.
The midfield also boasts considerable experience with José Ignacio Larenas captain and Barcelona standout Francisco de la Fuente on his inside. Dynamic attacker Ítalo Zunino returns to the Chilean lineup for the first time since the 2016 ARC in place of Franco Velarde who is on sevens duty, and Tomás Ianiszewski will be a key instigator at the back and will act as primary goal kicker, with impressive range despite a slight physique.
Os Tupis coach Rodolfo Ambrosio has opted for a relatively settled side though a few old heads are missing. Nick Smith has retired from international duty with ball carrier André Arruda now first choice at No8 and Yan Rosetti the captain since mid-2017. Long-time flanker Ige da Ros joined the coaching staff in November and may well have played his last game for Brazil while halfback Lucas Duque is in a similar situation, not fully fit and now installed as team doctor.
Duque’s brother Moisés is present, however, and forms a potent centre combination beside Felipe Sancery. They won’t have the other Sancery twin – fullback Daniel – in the lineup due to injury which takes a considerable amount of sting out of the backline though Lucas Tranquez is a competent replacement and De Wet van Niekerk remains a danger man on the left wing. Utility back Laurent Bourda-Couhet fills in at scrumhalf with incumbent Matheus Cruz absent.
Brazil’s inconsistent selection at tighthead prop continues with veteran Jardel Vettorato recalled to the run-on side. Wilton Rebolo returns after several months on the sidelines to take up a spot on the bench as cover, and there is a surprise with uncapped Farrapos loose forward Angelo Marcucci named in the No16 jersey as a replacement hooker. Outstanding forward Cléber Dias is named on the blindside flank with live-wire openside Matheus Daniel settling for a reserve role.
The two sides split their meetings last year with Brazil taking the spoils in São Paulo to start the 2017 ARC and Chile earning the win in Santiago during the South American Championship. Chile were also victorious at La Reina in their first ever ARC match in 2016 and they two sides fought to a draw in April of that year. In fact the Tupis have never achieved a test victory in Santiago.
While it would be foolish to suggest the Cóndores are ripe for the picking, on the back of an historic victory over Belgium in Europe and with experienced players at key positions, the capacity for victory in Chile is very much a realistic expectation for the Tupis. To do so will require their scrum to stand up to a stern Chilean challenge while the left boot of New Zealand-born flyhalf Josh Reeves must make accuracy a priority rather than frequency.
For each side this represents the greatest chance of victory in the ARC with Chile’s home advantage boosting their somewhat weakened roster. Either way this should be a highly competitive match with a one-score result very likely.
CHILE
1 Vittorio Lastra, 2 Tomás Dussaillant, 3 José Tomás Munita, 4 Nikola Bursic, 5 Mario Mayol, 6 Javier Richard, 7 Alfonso Escobar, 8 Benjamín Soto, 9 Juan Pablo Perrotta, 10 Santiago Videla, 11 Ítalo Zunino, 12 Francisco de la Fuente, 13 José Ignacio Larenas (capt.), 14 Mauricio Urrutia, 15 Tomás Ianiszewski
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Guajardo, 17 Sebastián Otero, 18 Marco Díaz, 19 Manuel Dagnino, 20 Nicolás Garafulic, 21 Beltrán Vergara, 22 Benjamín Pizarro, 23 Lucca Avelli
BRAZIL
1 Lucas Abud, 2 Yan Rosetti (capt.), 3 Jardel Vettorato, 4 Gabriel Paganini, 5 Lucas Piero, 6 Arthur Bergo, 7 Cléber Dias, 8 André Arruda, 9 Laurent Bourda-Couhet, 10 Josh Reeves, 11 De Wet van Niekerk, 12 Moisés Duque, 13 Felipe Sancery, 14 Lucas Muller, 15 Lucas Tranquez
Replacements: 16 Angelo Marcucci, 17 Michel Gomes, 18 Wilton Rebolo, 19 Diego López, 20 Matheus Daniel, 21 Will Broderick, 22 Robert Tenório, 23 Ariel Rodrigues
Date: Saturday, February 3
Venue: Estadio de la Pintana, Santiago
Kickoff: 15:00 local (13:00 Eastern, 16:00 Brasilia)
Broadcasts: ESPN (South America), TSN GO (Canada), The Rugby Channel (USA – delayed)
