With the regular season of Super Rugby Americas 2023 now concluded it is time to name the best players. The season featured teams from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and the USA. There were players from additional countries including Canada, Colombia, Ireland, and New Zealand.
Teams from Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay secured places in the play-off’s. The Super Rugby Americas 2023 all-stars does not give preference to these players; instead, every selection is based on merit. Players have been compared across all positions.
BEST OF – POSITIONS
FRONT-ROW
ARN identified the leading loose head props as Salvador Lues (Selknam), Rodrigo Martínez (Pampas), Lucas Noguera Paz (Yacare). Lues had a 100% tackle completion rate in the season.
Competition for hooker was fierce; every team had one or more hookers meriting consideration. Diego Fortuny led the Raptors very well. Guillermo Pujadas (Peñarol), Endy Willian Pinheiro (Cobras) and Diego Escobar (Selknam) were both highly productive. Boris Wenger (Dogos) scored highly in tackles made, tries scored and in the set-piece.
Tight head props Diego Arbelo and Ignacio Péculo were both shortlisted. Both played well for Peñarol throughout the season. Facundo Pomponio was particularly impressive in the late rounds of the regular season.
SECOND-ROW
Yacare’s line-ups have seen some Paraguayans play and many Argentines do so. Mariano Garcete was the best Paraguayan. He truly was a stand-out for Yacare. Lautauro Simes and Franco Molina both impressed for Dogos. Diego Magno was highly reliable for the Raptors while fellow Uruguayan Juan Manuel Rodríguez (Peñarol) is now in the frame for international duty.
BACK-ROW
As units the leading back-rower were Peñarol and Yacare. Manuel Ardao and Manuel Diana were the best players wearing 6 and 8 respectively. They were followed by Nicolás D’Amorim (Pampas) and Ronan Murphy (Raptors). Felipe Villagrán (Yacare) was a stand-out. Others to impress include Carlos Deus (Peñarol), Lucas Bianchi (Peñarol), Felipe Puertas (Yacare) and Clemente Saavedra (Selknam).
SCRUM-HALF
ARN identified Santiago Álvarez (Peñarol), Agustín Moyano (Dogos), and Ignacio Inchauspe (Yacare) as the top scrum-halves of the season. Álvarez held down the position which saw Tomás Inciarte playing center. This may have repercussions for the World Cup. Moyano is a player on the rise while Inchauspe must now in in the sights of Michael Cheika.
FLY HALF
When Los Pampas won Joaquín de la Vega Mendía played well. There were times when the team struggled. Felipe Etcheverry (Peñarol) was the clear top fly half of the season. He has a spot nailed down for the World Cup. He will likely feature at fly half and fullback at different times.
CENTER
The Raptors were the most consistent in center selection. Their mid-fielders did very well offensively but were less impressive on defense. Other teams rotated with fly halves and wingers playing centers for a number of teams. ARN decided that the best 12 was Leonardo Gea Salim (Dogos) and the best 13 was Domingo Saavedra (Selknam).
BACK-THREE
Gastón Mieres (Peñarol) was exceptional for Peñarol as was Juan Manuel Alonso. They both narrowly miss out as does Santiago Videla (Selknam). After careful analysis ARN has settled for all-Argentine back-three. Iñaki Delguy and Benjamín Elizalde led the try scoring statistics from wings. Mateo Soler scored from both wing and fullback.
BEST OF – TEAMS
RAPTORS
Forward: Ronan Murphy (US)
Back: Line Latu (US)
MVP: Diego Magno (UY)
COBRAS
Forward: Lucio Anconetoni (AR)
Back: Ariel Rodrigues (BR)
MVP: Lucas Tranquez (BR)
YACARE
Forward: Mariano Garcete (PY)
Back: Ramiro Amarilla (AR)
MVP: Ignacio Inchauspe (AR)
SELKNAM
Forward: Diego Escobar (CL)
Back: Domingo Saavedra (CL)
MVP: Salvador Lues (CL)
PENAROL
Forward: Manuel Ardao (UY)
Back: Felipe Etcheverry (UY)
MVP: Manuel Diana (UY)
DOGOS
Forward: Boris Wenger (AR)
Back: Leonardo Gea Salim (AR)
MVP: Lautaro Simes (AR)
PAMPAS
Forward: Nicolás D’Amorim
Back: Benjamín Elizalde
MVP: Joaquín de la Vega Mendía
OVERALL
BEST BACK
Ignacio Inchauspe (AR)
BEST FORWARD
Manuel Ardao (UY)
2023 SRA PLAYER OF THE YEAR – MVP
Manuel Diana (UY)
SUPER RUGBY AMERICAS 2023 – ALL-STARS
1 – Salvador Lues (Selknam)
2 – Boris Wenger (Dogos)
3 – Diego Arbelo (Peñarol)
4 – Lautaro Simes (Dogos)
5 – Mariano Garcete (Yacare)
6 – Manuel Ardao (Peñarol)
7 – Felipe Vilagrán (Yacare)
8 – Manuel Diana (Peñarol)
9 – Ignacio Inchauspe (Yacare)
10 – Felipe Etcheverry (Peñarol)
11 – Iñaki Delguy (Pampas)
12 – Leonardo Gea Salim (Dogos)
13 – Domingo Saavedra (Selknam)
14 – Benjamín Elizalde (Pampas)
15 – Mateo Soler (Dogos)
Replacements: 16 Guillermo Pujadas (Peñarol), 17 Rodrigo Martínez (Pampas), 18 Facundo Pomponio (Yacare), 19 Juan Manuel Rodríguez (Peñarol), 20 Carlos Deus (Peñarol), 21 Agustín Moyano (Dogos), 22 Joaquín de la Vega Mendía (Pampas), 23 Lucas Tranquez (Cobras)
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