Joe Santamaria reviews Round 12 of Super Rugby Americas as the race for the play-offs heats up
Dogos continued their recent run of form with an impressive 43-29 away victory over Tarucas.
The hosts started well and took the lead early through a Nicolas Roger penalty. Tarucas’ promising start got even better when scrum half Simon Benitez Cruz scored one of the tries of the tournament.
Roger broke away from virtually his own try line before setting his half back partner away.
It looked as though Cruz would be caught but he showed surprising power to break free of the attempted tackle to reach the line.
Dogos managed to compose themselves and grew into the game, aided by the dominance of their forwards.
They cut the deficit with two penalties before taking the lead with a score in the corner, a great pass under pressure from captain Valentin Cabral.
Neither side were willing to give an inch, with both knowing that a loss would surrender the momentum to their rivals. Dogos made it to halftime with a slender three-point advantage.
Dogos head coach Nicolas Galatro will be delighted with the way his side was able to up the intensity in the second half, where their experience from last season’s title triumph shone through.
Lautaro Cipriani continued his recent try-scoring form early in the second half, but the credit should go to blindside flanker Aitor Bildosola, whose lung-busting charge up the field made Cipriani’s job easy for him.
Tarucas struck back when Thiago Sbrocco forced his way to the line after several phases of attack but Dogos were soon back in control, punishing their opponents’ every indiscretion with shots at goal.
Cruz grabbed his second try on the hour mark after running a great inside support line to put the game beyond Tarucas.
Both sides added further scores, with Tarucas’ late surge making the scoreline look a little more favourable but they were ultimately outclassed and outgunned.
Dogos’ win saw them climb to the top of the table, with Pampas still to play, while Tarucas fans know their chances of making the semifinals in their debut season are now hanging by a thread.
Yacare 33-18 Cobras
Cobras put in one of their better performances of the season in their visit to Yacare, but it wasn’t enough to prevent them from falling to a 33-18 defeat.
The Brazilian visitors drew first blood through two penalties, but Yacare hit back with a seamless pre-planned attack that saw winger Arturo Lopez race through a gaping hole to score the game’s first try.
Cobras reclaimed the lead when their talismanic hooker Endy Willian De Jesus Pinheiro dotted down after a rolling maul. The visitors couldn’t make it to the break in front, however, as Yacare winger Juan Daniel González’s converted try with the clock in the red gave the hosts the lead.
Pinheiro’s second try, just moments into the second half, gave Cobras fans hope that their side might be on their way to a first win of the season, but it proved to be yet another false dawn.
Yacare applied huge pressure to the Cobras defence, which could not hold out forever. Eventually, they were hit with two quick-fire scores from Lucas Sommer and Julian Quetglas Bojar, which took the wind out of their sails.
González scored his second try with minutes left to play, but the fight had long since gone out of their opponents, who are now staring down the barrel of a winless season.
Yacare meanwhile strengthened their hold on fourth place, with Selknam still to play.
Selknam 18-16 Pampas
Selknam delivered their best performance of the season by stunning last year’s finalists Pampas in Buenos Aires.
It was clear that the visitors knew the importance of the game, with defeat surely signalling the end of their playoff hopes.
On a cold and misty evening in the Argentine capital, the two sides produced a game with all the tension of a final.
Tomás Salas and Renthel Estanislao exchanged penalties but it was clear that this game wouldn’t be anything like as high-scoring as the others in Round Twelve.
Selknam eventually broke the deadlock when loosehead prop Salvador Lues powered over from close range after a great break from scrum half Benjamin Videla. A second Salas penalty meant the visitors took a ten-point lead into halftime.
The second half remained cagey, with both sides looking for a moment of guile to outmanoeuvre the ferocious opposition defence.
When the moment came, it was from an unlikely source – Pampas loosehead Miguel Prince threw a defence-splitting pass that a fly half would have been proud of to put Jeronimo Ulloa away to score.
Estanislao missed the conversion from out wide but it nevertheless looked as though the hosts were about to take control of the match.
Selknam deserve enormous credit for wrestling momentum back, with Raimundo Martínez particularly impressive in both attack and defence.
The visitors restored their ten-point lead when replacement Norman Aguayo scored from a rolling maul but Salas couldn’t convert from out wide.
A late onslaught from Pampas was inevitable and it began when Estanislao reduced the deficit with a penalty kick ten minutes from full time.
The hosts managed to get their own maul going late in the game and it bore fruit when Ignacio Bottazzini found his way to the line. Estanislao pushed his conversion wide and missed the chance to level the game.
Try as they might, Pampas couldn’t break through for the crucial score in the dying moments of the game, the end of which was greeted with roars from the Selknam team, who knew they had kept their season alive.
Pampas’ losing bonus point takes them back to the top of the table for now, but they have played one game more than their immediate rivals and are unlikely to stay there for long.
Round 13
Round 13 kicks off in Santiago, with Selknam knowing they must beat Yacare if they are to stand any chance of reaching the semifinals.
Dogos will play host to Peñarol with both sides capable of leapfrogging Pampas with a win. Finally, Cobras will have one last chance to prevent a winless season when they welcome Tarucas to São Paulo.
By Joe Santamaria
