The new tournament format that will receive Selknam bets on the World Cup in France

The countdown for the Condors has already begun. With the arrival of 2023, everything that is done in adult national rugby has a single objective: the world XV in France. And this is not just happening in Chile, but across the continent. This is why the SLAR will no longer be the SLAR. South America Rugby has announced changes to the Southern Cone’s most important tournament, to empower teams traveling to Europe in September this year.

Changes that obviously also fall on Selknam, who is already in pre-season thinking of the start of the new tournament which will be called Super Rugby Americas. Francisco Urroz, star name of Cóndores and the national franchise, refers to this new challenge and the work done by the Chilean team.

“It adds to have more teams and even more when there is one from the United States. This increases the visibility of the championship and makes it more competitive. They are important players, it is more resources that enter the region “comments the rear.

And changes are not uncommon. The first thing is that Cafeteros Pro de Colombia will not be part of the event and four franchises will join, three from Argentina and one from the United States. The Transandinas are Dogos XV, Pampas and Yacaré XV, while the North Americans are American Raptors, who will be Selknam’s first rivals on February 18 in the opening round of the event.

Additionally, the contest will no longer be played in a single city, but teams will travel across the continent, playing home and away matches. In the case of the Nationals, their first two games will be played in Santiago and then they will travel to Argentina to face Dogos XV.

Finally, the organization also reported that by 2023 teams will only be able to have players of their own nationality. The right decision according to Urroz: “It will give more shoots to local players who show up to secure a place in the World Cup in September “, he admits.

These changes, which raise the level and bring in new players, prompted Selknam to make a special pre-season. The preparation session will last six weeks and will take place in Mahuida de la Reina Park, where the Chilean high performance rugby center is located. There they will seek to regain a strong physical rigor and where there will also be several instances related to the management of mental strength.

Urroz also comments on this:For the moment we have concentrated on reconstituting the team, since we had had a few weeks off because we had had a very heavy load lately. We start with assessments, measurements and lots of running. We also mix all that with a bit of rugby, where we put the emphasis on the attack. We’ve seen what our attack tools will be for this year “, he admits.

Jobs that focus on fine-tuning the details of the World Cup, but also thinking about winning their first continental title. “We are a group that has been working for a long time and with increasing results. We lost the semi-final two years ago, last year the final and obviously we always want more and be as high as possible. We all want to get that cup when it’s time to be in the final. We have this 2022 thorn in us and we want to go there “Admits Urroz, before admitting an obvious situation due to the particular year that Chilean rugby is going through.

“Obviously the focus is on building the team and getting better prepared for the World Cup, so it’s been a development platform for the team, but we’re competitive and we want to be in this final and of course win it. ”. confess. And it is that with France 2023 fast approaching, everything will be focused on this: the pre-season, the new Super Rugby Americas and each match that takes place during these months. No one wants to miss the planetary event and everyone wants to arrive in top form in the French country. The work, yes, has already begun.