Brazil Defeats Paraguay In the Opener Of The Sudamerica Rugby Championship
By Mohamed Bahaa
With a convincing 77-17 triumph over Paraguay, Brazil started their Sudamerica Rugby Championship 2024 campaign, therefore bringing them closer to the quarterfinal of the South American Rugby World Cup Qualifiers scheduled for 2025.
One thousand passionate supporters arrived at afternoon to see the action in Estádio Nicolau Alayon in São Paulo. Brazil claimed their supremacy right away, therefore transforming what was expected to be a competitive confrontation into a one-sided event.
Early on, the home team set the pace; winger Ariel Rodrigues opened the scoring by completing a well-executed corner movement. Brazil's relentless attack persisted as they crossed the try line five more times before halftime. Paraguay's efforts nonetheless only managed to score ten points on the board before the break, therefore underscoring the gulf in quality between the two sides.
On the field, Brazil was clearly superior; their scrum turned out to be an absolute pillar. The Brazilian strikers' physicality and tactical discipline caused Paraguay difficulty mounting any significant challenge.
With a well-made try by Sebastian Urbieta, Paraguay showed signs of life in the second half. Any expectation of a comeback, though, was swiftly dashed as Brazil answered with a flurry of tries, finally closing the score with a 60-point difference.
Carlos Mignot of Biarritz Olympique stood out among the others when he secured his first international hat-trick. Fullback Lucas Tranquez was similarly remarkable, maintaining a perfect record with six successful conversions from six tries.
When considering the triumph, Brazil's head coach Emiliano Caffera said he was happy with the team's performance: “It was a great spectacle, and we executed our game plan to perfection. The result helps us for our next game against Chile. We couldn’t be prouder of what we did, and the only negative was the two conceded tries.”
Paraguay will try to reorganize ahead of their September 28th game against Chile as the competition heats on. Brazil's attention then turns to their forthcoming encounter with Chile on October 5th, when they want to land in the semifinal. Uruguay already is through; if Brazil keeps their present form, they should progress. Paraguay's road to qualification gets more difficult since they might have a must-win scenario in a possible playoff versus the winner of the Sudamerica regional qualifiers.
JUDY ROTICH