From this Friday, February 17 and until Friday, June 9, the first professional rugby franchise tournament in the American region will be held, called Super Rugby Americas (SRAM).
will be 45 parties those that will make up the contest in which seven franchises from six countries will participate: two belonging to Argentina (Pampas and Dogos XV), one from Uruguay (Peñarol), Paraguay (Yacare XV), Brazil (Cobras XV), Chile (Selkman) and United States (American Raptors).
In this way, the participation of six countries is maintained as in 2020, 2021 and 2022, but with the novelty that, in this edition, the United States will replace Colombia.
The tournament will be played under the format of all against all, with round-trip matches, and in this way the contest promises to raise the level of the previous ones.
The regular phase will take place between February 17 and May 27, the semifinals will be played by the best four classified teams (1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3) on June 2; and the grand final will be between the winners of those semifinals on Friday the 9th of that month, to then determine who will be the champion.
Between the two national franchises and in three of the remaining five, the 101 Argentine rugby players will be available to represent the different teams. Only Uruguay and Chile will not use players from our country. These teams will seek to strengthen themselves for the 2023 World Cup in France and will take advantage of this tournament to be able to observe everyone.
Thus, the detail indicates that 79 Argentine players were signed for Dogos XV and Pampas, the national franchises and also that 14 will play for Yacaré, from Paraguay; while another four will do it for Cobras from Brazil and American Raptors, from the United States.
The great novelty of this year 2023 became the entry of American Raptors, the American team that will participate for the first time, giving a place to North America (Canada is expected to join in the not too distant future, it is even speculated that in 2024 Miami will be one of the new franchises of the tournament hand in hand of Marcos Galperín, one of the founders of Mercado Libre).
It is also said that it is possible that Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico and even Colombia could add more teams to complete a tournament of at least 10 teams, and that after the year of the World Cup a championship of that caliber would be more than interesting for the region.
The truth is that for now American Raptors joined, which was reinforced at the height of the circumstances and will have four former Pumas in its ranks: Martín Landajo, Ramiro Moyano, Lucas González Amorosino and Diego Fortuny. In addition, the renowned Uruguayan players Diego Magno and Juan Echeverría, the Chilean Sebastián Otero and the Colombians Juan Camilo Pacheco, Diver Ceballos, Santiago Gálvez, Juan David Agudelo and Alain Altahona will be present.
Under the format of home and away matches, the seven participating franchises will play at least six times on their field. (we remember that in 2020 the SLAR tournament was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that in 2021 and 2022 bubble-format venues were set up in Santiago de Chile, Montevideo, Asunción and Ciudad del Este; not being able to advance on the subject of the localities).
In this way, now yes, finally in this 2023, the seven franchises will have the possibility of developing their fan base throughout the twelve weekends of the regular phase, each one in their respective stadiums with everything that this brings rigged.
Super Rugby Americas will kick off this Friday the 17th at 7:00 p.m. at the Tala RC club in Villa Warcalde, Córdoba; when Dogos XV makes its debut against Yacare XV, from Paraguay.
On Saturday, February 18 at 6:00 p.m. last year’s SLAR finalist, Selknam from Chile will receive the American Raptors, the team from Glendale, Colorado (United States) that will represent the north of the continent at the La Pintana Stadium. American.
The first date will be completed on Sunday 19 from 3:00 p.m., when Cobras XV of Brazil receives the Argentine franchise Pampas at the Eestadio Nicolás Alayón, in São Paulo.
All these matches will be televised live on the Star+ platform.
Meanwhile, the last champion of the South American tournament, Peñarol de Montevideo, will have a free date and will begin the tournament by receiving the American franchise at the beginning of the second date, on Friday, February 24.
It should be noted that American Raptors will play the first four dates as a visitor, traveling from Santiago de Chile to Montevideo (vs Peñarol Rugby), then to Buenos Aires (they will play CASI vs Pampas) and Asunción (Heroes de Curupaytí vs. Yacare XV). Then they will return to Glendale where, after having the date off, they will play their next six games at Infinity Park, known as Rugby Town, home to multiple events, such as Chile’s qualification by beating the United States and winning the World Cup for the first time. ticket to a World Cup.
The establishments of the franchises and from which clubs they arrive
The Pampas squad is made up of the following players: Javier Corvalan (pillar / Deportiva Francesa), Matías Medrano (pillar / Bella Vista Regattas), Miguel Prince (pillar / Newman), Rodrigo Martinez (pillar / Los Tordos), Ramiro Gurovich (hooker / Athletic Club Students), Valentino Minoyetti (hooker / Buenos Aires C&RC), Rodrigo Perez Boulan (hooker / Lomas Athletic), Javier Coronel (pillar / University of La Plata), Martin Villar (pillar / Lomas Athletic), Renzo Zanella (pillar / Commercial RC), Lorenzo Colidio (second line/Elfs RC), Jeronimo Ureta (second line/Newman), Franco Carrera (second line/San Cyrus), Rodrigo Fernandez Criado (second line/Belgrano Athletic), Eliseo Fourcade ( second row / Pucará), Federico Lavanini (second row / Hindu Club), Manuel Bernstein (wing / Ateneo Inmaculada Rugby Club), Eliseo Chiavassa (wing / Los Tilos), Nicolás D’Amorim (wing / Hindu Club), Felipe Bares (wing / Los Tilos), Benjamin Grondona (eighth / Champagnat) , Santiago Ruiz (eighth / Regattas Bella Vista), Matthew Albanese (half-scrum/SIC), Tomás Di Biase (half-scrum/Deportiva Francesa), Rafael Iriarte (half-scrum/CUBA), Eliseo Morales (half-scrum/CUBA). University of Salta), Joaquin de la Vega Mendía (opening / Hindu Club), Joaquin Lamas (opening / SIC), Tomas Suarez Folch(opening / La Plata RC), Tomas Passaro (wing or fullback / CUBA), Jeronimo Ulloa (wing). / Newman), Manuel Alfaro (center / Banco Nation), Felipe de la Vega (center / CUBA), Juan Pablo Castro (center / San Juan RC), Santiago Castro (wing/ San Martin), Iñaki Delguy (wing / Pucará) , Igancio Lucero (wing/Mendoza RC), Mateo Pannochia (wing/Los Thrdos), Benjamin Elizalde (fullback/Tigres RC) and Juan Ignacio Landó (fullback/Belgrano Athletic).
The Dogos XV squad is made up of these players: Juan Cruz Strada (Santa Fe Rugby), Juan Mernes (Paraná Students), Lautaro Cipriani (Tilcara), Manuel Todaro (Rosario University), Román Pretz (Duendes), Ignacio Gandini ( Goblins), Valentino Di Capua (Goblins), Francisco Diez (Goblins), Franco Giudice (GER), Juan Bautista Baronio (Jockey Club Rosario), Mateo Núñez (Alma Juniors, de Esperanza), Tomás Bartolini (Marista RC), Aitor Bildosola (Los Tordos), Julián Hernández (Marista RC), Ernesto Giudice (Mendoza RC), Lautaro Peralta (Mendoza RC), Leonardo Gea Salim (University of Salta), Mariano García Azcarate (University of Salta), Facundo García Hamilton (Tucumán Rugby ), Santiago Pulella (Córdoba Jockey Club), Octavio Filipa (Córdoba Jockey Club), Franco Molina (Córdoba Jockey Club), Efraín Elías (Córdoba Jockey Club), Agustín Segura (Córdoba Jockey Club), Agustín Moyano ( Córdoba Athletic), Boris Wernger (Villa María Jockey), Ramiro Valdez (La Tablada), Gregorio Hernández (Tala), Lautaro Simes (Tala), Valentín Soler (Tala), Mateo Soler (Tala), Octavio Barbatti (Córdoba Jockey Club), Nicolás Viola (Córdoba Jockey Club), Felipe Mallía (Córdoba Jockey Club) , Francisco Udrisard (La Tablada), Federico Albrisi (Tala), Valentín Cabral (Córdoba Athletic) and Faustino Sánchez Volarolo (Palermo Bajo).
Start what many were waiting for, with two Argentine franchises among its participants. Both will seek to recover the lost leadership of the region last year when the champion was Peñarol. Will be able?
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