Jaguares bring back the big guns for historic quarter-final match

In preparation for their first-ever home semi-final, the Jaguares have made a raft of changes to their side after resting some of their big guns last week against the Sunwolves.

The Jaguares made their first finals appearance in 2018 when they fell to the Lions away from home. They have the chance to rectify that this year after topping the South African conference and will now play host to the fast-finishing Chiefs – who have lost only 3 of their previous 11 matches.

As such, head coach Gonzalo Quesada has restored some of his big hitters that were given a rest last weekend.

Guido Petti is the sole forward to back up after last weekend’s big 52-10 victory. He retains his spot in the 4 jersey and will be partnered by Tomas Lavanini.

Mayco Vivas, Agustin Creevy and Santiago Medrano return to the front row after while Pablo Matera, Marcos Kremer and Javier Ortega Desio are restored as the loose-forward trio.

In the backs, captain Jeronimo de la Fuente and Matias Orland will continue their partnership in the midfield while Sebastian Cancelliere also maintains his position on the right win. The rest of the backline is completely changed with Tomas Cubeli and Joaquin Diaz Bonilla coming in as the halves pairing and Matias Moroni and Emiliano Boffeli round out the back three.

The match-up between the Jaguares and the Chiefs could well be the most closely-fought and most exciting of the quarter-finals. Both teams have found good form in the latter half of the season and both tend to throw caution to the wind on attack.

The match kicks off at 7:05PM (AST) on Friday night, which will mean a 10:05AM start for New Zealanders on Saturday morning.

Jaguares: Emiliano Boffelli, Sabastian Cancelliere, Matias Orlando, Jeronimo de la Fuente (c), Matias Moroni, Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, Tomas Cubelli, Javier Ortega Desio, Marcos Kremer, Pablo Matera, Tomas Lavanini, Guido Petti, Santiago Medrano, Agustin Creevy, Mayco Vivas. Reserves: Julian Montoya, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Enrique Pieretto, Tomas Lezana, Francisco Gorrissen, Felipe Ezcurra, Domingo Miotti, Santiago Carreras.