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The Sudamerica Rugby Championship 2024 is underway, and Brazil started the campaign with a massive 77-17 win against Paraguay, driving them closer to the semifinals of the South America Rugby World Cup Qualifying round to be played in 2025.
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The South American rivals met at the Estádio Nicolau Alayon in São Paulo with one thousand fans in attendance. On a boiling hot sunny afternoon, the home side were the only ones in it in what proved to be a one-sided contest.
The Tupís took an early lead, with wing Ariel Rodrigues dotting the ball down in the corner. The Brazilians piled on and scored another five tries before half-time, with the visitors only being able to score ten points before heading off to the break.
The Brazilians were far superior in every aspect, plunging the Paraguayans into a physical contest they couldn’t counter, with the scrum being the main weapon of choice of the home team.
In the second 40 minutes, Paraguay tried to mount some resistance, scoring a well-worked try finished by Sebastian Urbieta. Unfortunately, it was followed by a scoring spree for Brazil, who added five more tries to their tally, wrapping the game with a record 60-point margin win.
Biarritz Olympique centre Carlos Mignot scored his first international hat-trick, and fullback Lucas Tranquez had a perfect day off the tee, converting six from six.
Brazil’s head coach Emiliano Caffera was elated with how Brazil played in front of their home crowd,
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“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 travel to Chile on the 28th of September for the 2nd round, with the competition concluding on the 5th of October when the Condores hosts Brazil.
As previously stated, the top two teams from this stage will proceed to the semifinals (to be played in the Summer of 2025), with Uruguay already qualified. If the Chileans can avoid any shock defeats, they will join Brazil in the semis. With the Yakares poised to finish last, they will be forced to play against the 2024 winner of the Sudamerica regional qualifiers to earn a last chance to get back into the Men’s RWC trail.
