Peñarol Rugby beat Selknam to take the lead after four rounds of Super Rugby Americas, needed a 74th minute try to secure the win.
Earlier, on Friday, the first ever game between Tarucas and Pampas was also pulsating, with a win for the visitors, whilst defending champions Dogos XV were in prime condition to beat Cobras Brasil Rugby by the second largest score in the history of the tournament on Saturday to secure their first win this season.
Tucumán was once one of the hottest destinations in world rugby in the eighties and nineties. All Black great Zinzan Brooke, in the famous The Wyllie Bunch doco, explained what visiting the city was back in the day.
Ahead of an All Black game in the city, he recalled what it was to leave the field when he played with the NZ Maori in 1988, after an extremely dirty game: “two old men up the top of the tunnel with umbrellas whacking the sh** out of us,” he told some of his teammates.
Two years later, the Battle of Tucumán was one of the most infamous pages in the proud province’s history, when the Springboks came, fought and won against the “Clockwork Orange.”
Fast forward 22 years later and Super Rugby Americas welcomed the arrival of new franchise Tarucas, representing the northwestern region of the country.
Aiming to revive those passionate days when playing against the always powerful Buenos Aires province – think about how much everyone outside of its catchment area used to dislike the all-conquering Auckland Blues – their game against Pampas, based in the nation’s capital, was highly anticipated and drew a sell-out crowd at the aptly named Tucumán Lawn Tennis.
Fortunately, rugby nowadays has too many protective tiers to ensure games do not go out of hand. The Friday-late-afternoon game was played in the right spirit, passion and clean rugby.
The game’s opening try was scored by lock Federico Lavanini, younger brother of international lock Tomás, from short range.
Having scored eight of its previous nine tries from mauls from lineouts, Tarucas broke the trend, and slicing through the midfield, winger Tomás Vanni scored after breaking a couple of tackles. With both kickers adding the extras, it was 7-7 at halftime.
Pampas winger Santiago Pernas pirouetted in the left corner to score thirteen minutes into the second half. Then, Tarucas used the tried-and-tested formula; rather than the hooker at the back of the rolling maul, it was again Vanni that somehow found himself around forwards and scored six minutes later. Nicolás Roger’s conversion put the home-side ahead by two.
With close to ten thousand spectators pushing them, it wasn’t to be. Six minutes from full-time, Pampas kicker Estanislao Renthel put his team ahead by the smallest of margins for the 15-14 win.
Soon after, Peñarol Rugby and Selknam played for history and future.
Six years after Selknam had come to Montevideo in the region’s first-ever professional game and ruined the night for the home side, it seemed to be heading to a similar conclusion.
With both countries – Uruguay and Chile – aiming to qualify for Rugby World Cup 2027 vying for the Americas No.1 spot, this game would give hints of what to expect as they should meet in August-September.
Leading 17-3 after 30 minutes – tries by hooker Guillermo Pujadas and centre Felipe Arcos Pérez, as the first half was coming to an end, diminute scrumhalf Marcelo Torrealba stole the ball from under the arms of Peñarol captain, and one of the most consistent forwards in the region, Manuel Diana, and ran 70 metres to score, against the tide, on the far side.
With 20 minutes to go, and the score 17-11, three players were sent to the sin bin following a fracas. Torrealba soon scored a try attacking an unattended blindside; Nicolás Garafulic took the lead with twelve minutes left.
In the end, it was 18-year-old debutant Justo Ferrario that stole the show. With six minutes to play and both sides again with fifteen players, Peñarol launched a counterattack from deep in their field and the teenager, in his first full game, ran 45 metres, outsprinting two desperate defenders to take his side to 22-18, score they defended until the final whistle.
The fourth round concluded with the second largest win in the tournament’s history. Dogos XV scored twelve of the sixteen tries in their 80-27 win against Cobras Brasil Rugby.
The Brazilian defence was easily broken throughout the game, with eight tries scored by the backs – only one try coming from a maul.
Winger Franco Rossetto, centre Agustín Segura, captain and flanker Valentín Cabral and fullback Mateo Soler each picked up a brace, and first five Juan Bautista Baronio finishing with a 21-point haul, (eight of nine goals and a neat try), in what was the defending champion’s first win of the season.
The visitors did not go empty-handed, managing to secure a four-try bonus point with seconds to spare.
The fifth round will kick off in Buenos Aires with Pampas hosting Yacare XV, from Paraguay on Friday. Sunday will see two games, Cobras Brasil Rugby at home in Sao Paulo against tournament leaders Peñarol Rugby, with Selknam and Tarucas closing the weekend in Santiago de Chile.
