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Uruguay have confirmed their team to play the USA in their opening round match of the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship on Saturday. Alejandro Nieto captains a side that contains five further members of the 2015 World Cup squad. Loosehead prop Mateo Sanguinetti, blindside flanker Franco Lamanna, inside center Juan de Freitas, right wing Leandro Leivas, and fullback Rodrigo Silva all add considerable experience to the lineup.
Only one new cap is found in the run-on side. Highly promising openside flanker Rodolfo Garese will make his test debut, with four more uncapped players on the bench. The reserve front row of Matias Benitez, Diego Pombo, and Felipe Inciarte should all win their first caps at Toyota Field on Saturday. Francisco Berchesi, younger brother of World Cup flyhalf Felipe, is also primed to make his test bow should he be called upon.
Head coach Esteban Meneses has opted for height in the second row, with Ignacio Dotti and Diego Ayala preferred to veteran Diego Magno. Meanwhile a rapid-fire halfback combination is unveiled in 20-year-old Santiago Arata and Germán Albanell, a versatile footballer previously capped at scrumhalf. Juan Manuel Cat, another youngster of only 20, will make his first test start in the midfield with his play-making skills set to compliment the hard-running de Freitas on his inside.
Los Teros surprised the Eagles last year, winning 29-25 in Montevideo. Uruguay ‘A’ also defeated a USA Select XV in the Americas Pacific Challenge by a record score of 47-15 in October. Saturday’s match takes place at San Antonio’s Toyota Field. Kickoff is set for 3:10pm local, 6:10pm Montevideo time. The match will be broadcast live on The Rugby Channel in the USA, and ESPN Sur in South America.
URUGUAY
1 Mateo Sanguinetti, 2 Facundo Gattas, 3 Juan Echeverría, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 5 Diego Ayala, 6 Rodolfo Garese, 7 Franco Lamanna, 8 Alejandro Nieto (capt.), 9 Santiago Arata, 10 Germán Albanell, 11 Andrés Rocco, 12 Juan de Freitas, 13 Juan Manuel Cat, 14 Leandro Leivas, 15 Rodrigo Silva
RESERVES: 16 Diego Pombo, 17 Matías Benítez, 18 Felipe Inciarte, 19 Juan Diego Ormaechea, 20 Diego Magno, 21 Guillermo Lijtenstein, 22 Francisco Berchesi, 23 Gastón Gibernau
