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In a possible early viewing of the SLAR 2022 Final, Peñarol play host to Selknam on Sunday. The match is a final round fixture of the SLAR 2022 season. Both teams have already qualified for the Semi Finals. Selknam will face Los Jaguares XV while Peñarol await the winner of Los Cafeteros Pro vs Olímpia Lions.
Sunday’s match between Peñarol and Selknam could be described as being treated as a warm-up. Both teams have opted for player rotation across their starting line-up’s. Peñarol start with Emiliano Faccenini at hooker, Nicolás Roger at fly half, Tomás Inciarte at inside center and José Iruleguy at fullback.
As the aforementioned selections indicate, Peñarol’s line-up is that of a team looking to get through the match unscathed. Santiago Civetta will captain the side. He will have just three players joining him that have been regulars for Peñarol throughout SLAR 2022.
Part of the problem for Peñarol is injuries. Diego Arbelo suffered a season ending injury last week while Felipe Arcos Pérez will also not return again for Peñarol in 2022. Of them the former will not tour Japan nor face Romania on home soil this year. The latter remains a question mark.
Selknam are a team focused on the greater objective of RWC 2023. Chile’s upcoming qualifiers against the USA means that SLAR is ultimately about getting the team ready. The line-up for the final round fixture is one of preservation as one eye is on Los Jaguares XV but the big picture of the RWC 2023 qualifiers is the genuine focus.
Selknam go in to the match with a starting team that has many fringe players. There are names that are pressing for spots in the starting line-up. This is evident in the front-row with Salvador Lues, Diego Escobar, and Vittorio Lastra starting.
Selknam’s second-row will be Argentine Franco Molina, and promising Chilean Augusto Sarmiento. Molina has been the leading Argentine second-rower in SLAR 2022. He arguably merits a place on Los Pumas’ roster for July.
The Selknam back-row is strong without being at maximum strength. Youth starts with Tomás Orchard seating the 6 shirt. He joins captain Ignacio Silva and Alfonso Escobar in the run-on formation.
The backline offers some opportunities and others rewards fro earlier performances. Marcelo Torrealba, and Uruguayan Juan Zuccarino will form the halves combination. José Larenas, and Domingo Saavedra start in the centers while the back-three will see Nicolás Garafulic returning to join Luca Strabucchi, and Francisco Arroz.
This match is about more than bragging rights ahead of a potential meeting in the SLAR 2022 Final. It is a clash of teams that carry the load of their country at test match level. Chile’s upcoming RWC 2023 qualifying series against the USA is the final frontier for Los Cóndores. Uruguay, meanwhile, are building towards the task of upsetting Italy at RWC 2023.
TEAMS
PENAROL
1 Matías Benítez, 2 Emiliano Faccenini, 3 Mathias Franco, 4 Diego Magno, 5 Nahuel Milán, 6 Tomás Etcheverry, 7 Santiago Civetta (capt.), 8 Carlos Deus, 9 Santiago Álvarez, 10 Nicolás Roger, 11 Mateo Viñals, 12 Tomás Inciarte, 13 Bautista Basso, 14 Federico Favaro, 15 José Iruleguy
Replacements: 16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Mateo Perillo, 18 Juan Echeverria, 19 Lucas Bianchi, 20 Francisco Suárez Folch, 21 Juan Manuel Tafernaberry, 22 Felipe Etcheverry, 23 Koba Brązionis
SELKNAM
1 Salvador Lues, 2 Diego Escobar, 3 Vittorio Lastra, 4 Franco Molina, 5 Augusto Sarmiento, 6 Tomás Orchard, 7 Ignacio Silva (capt.), 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Juan Zuccarino, 11 Luca Strabucchi, 12 José Larenas, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 14 Nicolás Garafulic, 15 Francisco Arroz
Replacements: 16 Jorge Delgado, 17 Sebastián Otero, 18 Esteban Inostroza, 19 Santiago Pedrero, 20 Martín Sigren, 21 Benjamín Videla, 22 Santiago Videla, 23 Matías Garafulic
Date: Sunday, May 15, 2022
Venue: Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay
Kickoff: 8:30pm (Montevideo), 7:30pm (Santiago)
Referee: Tomás Bertazza (Argentina)
Assistant Referees: Cauã Ricardo (Brazil), Gonzalo De Achaval (Argentina)
TMO: Alejandro Longres (Uruguay)
Broadcast: ESPN (America Latina), ESPN (Brazil), Star +
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2022-05-15 – Peñarol 31, Selknam 03 (Estadio 3 de Febero, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay)
2021-05-08 – Peñarol 17, Selknam 14 (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay)
2021-04-26 – Peñarol 17, Selknam 27 (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay)
2021-03-30 – Selknam 22, Peñarol 26 (Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile)
2020-03-04 – Peñarol 14, Selknam 13 (Estadio Charrúa, Montvideo, Uruguay)
