South American rugby has a new champion and he is Argentine. Doges XV won the final in the CASI a Pampas by 37 to 23 in the match that closed the fifth professional season of the Super Rugby Americas.
Pampas He arrived as a favorite, after qualifying first in the regular stage and winning 12 of the 13 games played. While Doges XV was playing in its second final, after its fall in Montevideo last year against Penarol. In the season there was one victory for each one as a visitor: Doges triumphed on the Cardinal Newman court 18 to 14 and Pampas He did the same in Villa Warcalde 37 to 15.
In the UAR franchise, a historic Los Pumas player from Santiago debuted as a coach. Juan Manuel Leguizamónwhich changed the head of his team that had never been able to beat the Cordoba team since they entered Super Rugby. Nicolas Galatrodriver of Dogos a second consecutive final.
The match was played with maximum tension from the beginning, with both teams with many inaccuracies and a Doges XV which was better, due to his great willingness to tackle and defend. In that context, he was superior despite being left with one man less after the yellow card to Lautaro Simes due to a charge in the air at the wrong time. The first stage ended 16 to 15 in favor of Pampas thanks to Corvalán’s try and Joaquín de la Vega Mendía’s kicks, so far the best player in the tournament. The Cordobans opened the scoring with a penalty from Hernández and struck the first blow with a conquest by Bildosola at the beginning and later, with a notable interception by Valentín Cabral when they were with 14 players and Pampas came with everything to take advantage of the numerical difference.
The second stage was all Cordoba, especially because of the practicality they had in knowing how to defend, catch balls and tackle any rival that passes by. Furthermore, he took advantage of every opportunity he had in his deliveries to the posts. With the entry of Juan Bautista Baronio from Rosario for Julián Hernández, Dogos XV added four penalties to go ahead 24 to 18.
There were less than 15 minutes left and Pampas began to despair, he couldn’t find a way back into the game. That key to enter the rival defense, which with great intelligence won all the duels and gave them the ball so they had to decide: a riddle without resolution for Leguizamón’s XV that, without many ideas, played as best as the rest could.
However, another catch by the red pack generated a new penalty, the fifth that Baronio converted again. Dogos XV went away 30 to 16 and it seemed that the match was already doomed. But a new yellow for Gea Salim left those from Córdoba with one less until the end.
Manuel Nogués replaced De la Vega Mendía, who left with cramps. Pampas looked for the line and the maul to score, but the captain of the Pumitas, Efraín Elías, stole an impossible ball.
The end was round for Dogos XV, who sealed the match with a penalty try to win it (37-16). That psychological dominance that he had throughout the second half, with an incredible partial of 22 to 7thanks to Scaiano’s try at the end of the game (37-21), something unthinkable due to what both had done in the qualifying phase of the tournament.
Córdoba shouted champion, hand in hand with its Dogos XV beloved, a red symbol that long ago inscribed its name in the old Argentine Championships. This time in professional rugby, in the Super Rugby Americas, where in a final with a team of young people he played great.
A review of the history of Super Rugby Americas
Making a little history of this important tournament, it all began in 2020, with the creation of the South American Super Leaguewhich integrated five franchises into their opening: Peñarol (Uruguay), Selknam (Chile), Ceibos (Argentina), Olimpia Lions (Paraguay) and Corinthians (Brazil). Popular names in football such as Peñarol, Olimpia and Corinthians were sought, but the pandemic suspended everything: only three games were played and the Brazilians never debuted under that name.
Jaguars He has been playing Super Rugby since 2016 against the teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. In 2019, under the leadership of Gonzalo Quesada He made history, reaching the final of the tournament for the first time, losing in Christchurch against Crusaders.
Covid 19 closed the doors of Argentina and the world. Rugby and all activities were suspended and Jaguares dissolved. The main figures of the team, who were from Los Pumas, had to go play abroad in order to continue at the best level. The Super League returned in 2021 in the form of a bubble and the UAR presented a very good team with the name Jaguars XVwho swept and took the tournament undefeated.
In 2022 there was an opening to a team from the United States, American Raptors. Thus, the tournament began to be called Super Rugby Americas. Argentina registered two franchises: one belonging to the Cordoban Rugby Union, called Doges XVand the other to the UAR, Pampas. The winner for two years in a row was Penarolthe franchise of the Uruguayan Rugby Union.
The name Dogos was the emblem of the Córdoba Rugby Team throughout its history. He won the old Argentine Championship seven times: 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2009, 2011, 2012. The historic tournament was played from 1945 to 2017, when due to scheduling problems it was decided not to play it again.
The other team that was under the wings of the UAR was called Pampas, like the first group of professional players that Argentine rugby had.
Pampas XV was winner of the Vodacom Cup in 2011, a tournament that was held entirely in South Africa. Some who later shone in Los Pumas participated in that first Argentine team of professional players: Agustín Creevy, Nicolás Sánchez, Juan Imhoff, Joaquín Tuculet, Martín Landajo, Leonardo Senatore, Tomás Cubelli and Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, among others.
The Summary of the Super Rugby Americas final:
PAMPAS (23): 1- Javier Corvalán, 2- Ramiro Gurovich, 3- Estanislao Carullo, 4- Eliseo Fourcade, 5- Marcelo Toledo, 6- Manuel Bernstein (captain), 7- Nicolas D’ Amorim, 8- Joaquin Moro, 9- Ignacio Inchauspe , 10- Joaquín de la Vega Mendía, 11- Jerónimo Ulloa, 12- Justo Piccardo, 13- Juan Pablo Castro, 14- Santiago Pernas, 15- Benjamin Elizalde.
Coach: Juan Manuel Leguizamón
DOGOS XV (37): 1- Boris Wegner, 2- Tomás Bartolini, 3- Octavio Ignacio Filippa, 4- Lautaro Simes, 5- Franco Molina (captain), 6- Aitor Bildosola, 7- Valentín Cabral, 8- Efraín Elías, 9- Agustín Moyano, 10 – Julián Hernández, 11- Felipe Mallía, 12- Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, 13- Leonardo Gea Salim, 14- Lautaro Cipriani, 15- Mateo Soler.
Coach: Nicolás Galatro.
Substitutes: 16- Santos Juárez Strada, 17- Francisco Aguirre Gallardo and 19- Lorenzo Colidio,
First time: 5 minutes, Julián Hernández’s penalty (D); 7m 23 and 33, penalties by, De la Vega Mendía (P); 11 tries by Bildosola converted by Julián Hernández (D); 16 try by Javier Corvalán converted by Joaquín de la Vega Mendía (P); and 25 tries from Valentín Cabral (R).
Change: 15 minutes, Facundo Cardozo for Bildosola (D)
Yellow: 24 minutes, Lautaro Simes (R)
Partial result: Pampas 16 v Dogos XV 15
Second time: 3, 9, 13, 25 and 28 minutes, penalties by Juan Cruz Baronio (D); 39 penalty try (R), and 41 try by Facundo Scaiano converted by Nogués (P).
Changes: from the beginning, Juan Bautista Baronio for Julián Hernández and Pedro Delgado Ibáñez for Octavio Filippa (D); 12 minutes, Facundo Scaiano and Simón Benítez Cruz for Javier Corvalán and Ignacio Inchauspe (P); 17 minutes, Agustín Segura for Faustino Sánchez Valarolo (R); 20 minutes, Ignacio Bottazzini, Javier Coronel and Rodrigo Fernández Raised by Ramiro Gurovich, Estanislao Carullo and Eliseo Fourcade (P); 24 minutes, Bruno Heit for Castro (P); 28 minutes, Manuel Nogués for de la Vega Mendía (P); 31 minutes, Santiago Montagner for Damorin (P), and 38 minutes, 21- Agustín de Vertiz for Felipe Mallía (D).
Yellow: 30 minutes, Leonardo Gea Salim (R).
Final score: Pampas 21 v Dogos XV 37
Basketball court: San Isidro Athletic Club.
Main Referee: Damián Schneider.
Assistant Referees: Nehuén Jauri Rivero and Tomás Bertazza.
TMO: Lucas Galan
