Argentina 111-0 Brazil

Brasil reflects on loss (portalderugby)

Eighteen years after the previous clash between Argentina and Brazil Los Pumas completed a massive win over their soccer rivals. The result was never in doubt as it was a clash between two contrasting rugby experiences. In Argentina the players start at a young age and there is an excellent infrastructure for the development of players. The result is clear as Argentina are a Tier One side and others need to replicate Argentina if they are to ever challenge Los Pumas. Argentina has players who started at a young age while in Brazil many only start playing after highschool. The CBRu appreciate this and are actively trying to change this by making it compluslosry for clubs in some regions to have junior teams or not be allowed to play in senior level competitions. 

In defeating Brazil, Argentina scored 17 tries and landing 13 conversions. Of the try scorers two players are strong contenders to play for Los Pumas this year in the June internationals vs Italy and / or France. Los Pampas XV winger, Manuel Montero scored a hatrick while scrumhalf  Tomás Cubelli scored a double. 

Argentina will face hosts, Chile on Saturday while Brazil will face Uruguay. Brazil now need to defeat Uruguay to avoid finishing bottom of the table while Argentina face Chile also on Saturday. The complaints made by teams at Rugby World Cup 2011 over the short turn-arounds were big news with Samoa, in particular, voicinig opposition to the four day gap between facing Namibia and Wales. Perhaps the players should spare a thought for the players in the South American Championship with Brazil facing two superior teams in the form of Chile and Argentina just three days apart.

Argentina lose Leandro Cedaro to Italy

Cedaro in the Pro d2 for Mont de Marsan

A promising young Argentine player has been lost to Italy. In an interview with Argentine site scrum, 25 year old Leandro Cedaro said he had taken an offer from Italy to train with the side and will make his debut, playing for Italy A in next months IRB Nations Cup in Romania. Cedaro had also been in the sights of Santiago Phelan with the Pumas coach having been in contact with him this season. There even exists a chance for Cedaro to play against Argentina in June with Los Pumas taking on Italy in San Juan. His decision to play for Italy rather than his own country is likely to see him stand a better chance of playing against top opposition and continues the tradition of potential Pumas being snapped up by Italy. Cedaro has played over 50 games of rugby in France´s Pro d2 and will be staying there next season after signing for La Rochelle who lost a Semi Final vs Pau this past weekend.

Argentina has depth in the secondrow with Agen´s new signing, Esteban Lozada left out of the World Cup squad. Cedaro would, indeed, have it tough to earn a place in Argentina´s test team with the likes of Patricio Albacete, Manuel Carizza, Julio Farías Cabello and Tomás Vallejos Cinalli to feature in the Pumas secondrow this season. Italy, in contrast, are not so well served right now in the position with a player from Mogliano, Marco Fuser, (not part of the Rabo Direct Pro 12) being in the senior squad.

Jebb Sinclair´ Stormers go top of the table

Sinclair Try vs Tonga, RWC 2011

Canadian international Jebb Sinclair played his second game of Super Rugby this past weekend and played the full 80 minutes for the Stormers in the Cape Town based sides home match against the Waratahs. The result sees the Stormers go top of the table. Sinclair played the match at number 8, his favorite position. He played there this sason for London Irish in the Aviva Premiership and will return to the club for the 2012-2013 season. Firstly, however he will play the remainder of the Super Rugby season for the Stormers and be on international duty for Canada in June as his country takes on Italy, Georgia and the United States of America.

A Canadian playing for the leading side in Super Rugby is further reasoning for Rugby World Cup 2023 to be hosted in the Americas with Argentina being the nation to host on behalf of both North and South America. 

Argentina makes nine changes to take on Brazil

Tomás Cubelli to play scrumhalf vs Brazil

After just a three day turn-around both the second round of the 2012 South American Championship will be played tomorrow, Wednesday in Santiago, Chile. The tournament favorites, Argentina, got a good 40-5 win on Sunday againast Uruguay and is confidently going about its business with nine changes having been made to the team to face Brazil in the second round. The changes will see Ignacio Sáenz Lancuba, Germán Aráoz, César Fruttero, Nicolás Azzorin, Rodrigo Bruno, Tomás Cubelli, Stéfano Ambrosio, Santiago Craig and Facundo Barrea all starting. The team will be led again by Leonardo Senatore who is the only player to have played professional rugby this season.

The match is to be the first between the die-hard soccer rivals in almost twenty years as the last time Argentina faced Brazil in test rugby was back in 1993. On that occassion Argentina won the match 114-3. The result is not expected to be so one sided this time around, however, but if Brazil can restrict Los Pumas to a difference of 50 points it will be a significant achievement. The closest match in history between the teams saw Argentina winning 30-8 in São Paulo in 1964. Argentina has won all eleven matches between the sides.

Argentina

1 Ignacio Sáenz Lancuba

2 Martín García Veiga

3 Germán Aráoz

4 César Fruttero

5 Nicolás Azzorin

6 Javier Ortega Desio

7 Rodrigo Bruno

8 Leonardo Senatore (Captain)

9 Tomás Cubelli

10 Stéfano Ambrosio

11 Manuel Montero

12 Javier Rojas

13 Santiago Craig

14 Facundo Barrea

15 Ramiro Moyano

Reserves: 16 Roberto Tejerizo, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Santiago Guzmán, 19 Benjamín Macome, 20 Martín Landajo, 21 Valentín Cruz, 22 Matías Orlando.

Brazil is yet to confirm its lineup for the match.

The Rugby Championship Players to Watch - Manuel Carizza

27 year old secondrower Manuel Carizza has been around for a long time. So much so that he is one of only a few Pumas to have faced South Africa previously and to have played a test match in Mendoza, the same city that will host the Springboks in The Rugby Championship. He made his debut eight years ago and has played 23 tests, starting 16 of them and having made the Pumas number 4 shirt his own in recent times. He has become increasingly visible on the field in recent times with hard hitting tackles, solid scrumaging and ball carrying skills and has been used as the primary jumper at the front of the lineout. With a height of over 2 metres and weighing over 115KG Carizza has the build to match the skills necessary for international rugby.

Carizza for Biarritz

Carizza made his international debut in 2004 vs the Springboks in Buenos Aires. The test was played outside of the June / November international windows which meant professional players were not released by their clubs. His second test came in April 2005 vs Japan, again it was a match in which clubs were not obliged to release players. He was a replacement in the history making 25-25 draw with the Lions in Cardiff and then played in all three tests in November - vs South Africa, Scotland and Italy from the bench. Carizza was pushing hard to be Argentina´s fourth choice secondrower for Rugby World Cup 2007 to make up the squad. Patricio Albacete, Rimas Alvarez Kairelis and Carlos Ignacio Fernández Lobbe were certainties and Carizza was in competition with Esteban Lozada and Pablo Bouza. Carizza played three tests in 2006, facing Chile, Uruguay and Wales,  but was not picked for the November tour with coach Marcello Lofreda opting to give Esteban Lozada his debut, joining the three big name players. Lozada would go on to be Argentina´s fourth choice secondrower at Franbe 2007 despite Carizza starting vs Italy in Mendoza in June that year.

Carizza wins lineout ball vs England

Although Carizza was overlooked for Rugby World Cup 2007, he was developing greatly as a player in France. He had joined Biarritz in 2005. At the time the club was nothing short of a powerhouse, winning the French Championship in 2005 and 2006 as well as being the Heineken Cup runners-up in 2006. Biarritz next made the Heineken Cup Final in 2010 with Carizza being an important player for the club. The timing was ideal for Los Pumas as both Carlos Ignacio Fernández Lobbe and Rimas Alvarez Kairelis had retired from international duty despite still playing for Perpignan and Northampton. The year 2010 saw Carizza become Argentina´s first choice number 4 as he joined Albacete to form what is becoming a long term secondrow combination. They function very well together with Albacete being more of a loose player and Carizza more of a tight player. The combination worked well, going on to be used at Rugby World Cup 2011 and starting four of the five matches of the tournament. Carizza had a fine World Cup, getting through a high amount of work.

Carizza is a player bucking the historical trend of Los Pumas. At France 2007 Argentina´s 30 man squad had 26 players from Buenos Aires. At New Zealand 2011, however, the number was 18. Carizza was one of six players from Argentina´s third largest city, Rosario. The same city will host Argentina vs Australia in The Rugby Championship with Carizza likely to be the starting number 4. The pair could indeed still be the starting pair at Rugby World Cup 2015 considering the age and form of the two players. Together they ensure that Argentina has a solid and reliable secondrow in all areas of play. 

Week One: Juan Manuel Leguizamón

Week Two: Lucas González Amorosino

Week Three: Marcelo Bosch

Week Four: Agustín Creevy

Week Five: Juan Martín Hernández 
Week Six: Martín Bustos Moyano
Week Seven: Leonardo Senatore

Week Eight: Rodrigo Roncero
Week Nine: Gonzalo Camacho
Week Ten: Patricio Albacete
Week Eleven: Horacio Agulla
Week Twelve: Juan Figallo
Week Thirteen: Santiago Fernández
Week Fourteen: Tomás Cubelli 
Week Fifteen: Marcos Ayerza

Week Sixteen: Manuel Carizza

Week Seventeen: Nicolás Vergallo

Argentina is a Tier One Regional Model

Scotland 15-6 Georgia, RWC 2011
Close game yet a rare fixture

In rugby international competition is divided into three categories. Known as tiers they are used to establish a basis for present and future ability, setting a platform for sides to know where they lie and just how much work they need to do to advance to a superior tier and also not fall down to an inferior tier. The IRB World Rankings has ninety-six nations but the top two tiers account for only the top eighteen sides. Of the sides considered as being the Top Two Tiers all except Georgia have competed at every Rugby World Cup since it was expanded from sixteen to twenty teams in 1999. The First Tier consists of ten sides - Australia, Argentina, England, France, Ireland, Italy,  New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Wales. The same teams account for all places in the Six Nations Championship and The Rugby Championship. The Second Tier consists of eight sides - Canada, Fiji, Georgia, Japan, Romania, Samoa, Tonga and the United States of America. In New Zealand 2011 these eighteen sides were joined by Namibia and Russia. As expected, no Tier Two side made the Quarter Finals of the tournament and neither Namibia nor Russia won a match which goes to show the tiers´ are a good reflection of the global rugby order. 

Despite the tiers not being geographically organized at all the IRB and Rugby World Cup Limited operate on a regional structure which in the case of  Namibia, for instance, has seen the African nation qualify for the past four World Cup´s, despite never having come close to winning a World Cup match. Namibia, a Tier Three nation, has been Africa´s best for the past twelve years but has only participated at World Cup´s due to Africa being given a direct qualifying spot. This controversy highlights the failures of the global rugby authorities to create a fair system for all in that African Tier Three sides have a massive advantage over all Tier Three nations from all other regions - Asia, Europe, Oceania and the Americas. While Namibia qualified after defeating no teams from Rugby World Cup 1999, 2003 or 2007 Russia qualified after defeating teams from each of these World Cup´s - Portugal, Romania and Spain. The Europeans happened to also have significantly higher placings in the IRB World Rankings than the sides Namibia played against. 

While Namibia has been the big winner in this, the biggest loser has been South America as it is the only continent which is not allocated World Cup qualification to the team which finishes first in qualification matches. The unjust system has the South American winner face the North American runner up with the winner of that qualifying for the World Cup as Americas 2. This ignores the Tier structure since North America has two sides from the second tier but South America doesn´t have any. Having Uruguay win the South American qualification series and then face Tier two sides while Namibia qualify automatically after only facing tier three sides is unjustifiable and simply odd. Seemingly, Uruguay´s two World Cup wins from seven matches has been entirely discredited. Curiously, the side that Uruguay defeated in Rugby World Cup 2003, Georgia, has gone on to now be a Tier Two side.

Chile vs Brazil, May 2012.
Argentina face both also in May 2012

Despite the IRB not doing good enough for the Americas, Argentina remains a regional leader. There is little to suggest that teams are closing the gap on Argentina. To the contrary, Los Pumas are a permanent tier one side that continues to match it against the best. Without its professional players, Argentina is still far too strong for the others in South America, as demonstrated yesterday with a 40-5 win over Uruguay. Such matches do little for Argentine rugby but are crucial to the growth of the likes of Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. Argentina´s annual participation in the South American Championship (CONSUR A) gives potential Pumas of the future a chance but, more importantly, acts as a measuring stick for Argentina´s opponents, all of which are Tier Three rugby nations. Of the nine other Tier One sides no team plays in an annual  regional competition comparable to the South American Championship. There is no Oceania Cup involving Australia , New Zealand and the three Tier Two sides of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. Nor is there an African Cup involving South Africa and other teams from the continent. Europe, similarly, has no competition featuring the Six Nations sides and the emerging nations. Last years World Cup saw Scotland defeating Georgia 15-6. The Tier One side failed to score a try. Yet there is no international competition between the sides at all and the match was, amazingly, the first ever between the two nations.

The reason for no regional competitions is not the differing abilities, if it were then World Cup´s would only feature Tier One sides. The First Tier simply have no interest in such matches taking place due to the financial costs involved. Aside from Argentina facing its South American counterparts in the CONSUR A tournament the only comparable example is Asia which has Japan (Tier Two) competiting in the Asian Five Nations which sees the Japanese face the next four best Asian sides - currently Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. Japan is Asia´s only non-Tier Three rugby nation and has competed at every World Cup. When Japan host Rugby World Cup 2019 it will be representing Asia and Argentina stands out as a regional leader for similar reasons. The South American Championship is a key part of developing the global game and it further underlines what Argentina has to offer as a World Cup host.

Chile 19-6 Brazil

The host nation of the 34th South American Championship, Chile got off to a positive start by defeating the foruth ranked side, Brazil by thirteen points in Santiago today. Brazil showed significant progress despite not scoring a try to underline the teams growth in recent years which has seen the sport boom in both playing numbers and clubs. The only try of the match was scored by Francisco Neira. it was converted by Timothy Gibson who also slotted a penalty goal. Javier Valderrama scored the remaining nine points with three penalties of his own for Los Condores. Brazil´s points game from two penalties with Daniel Gregg and Moíses Duque scoring one each.

Both sides only have two days off before returning for matches on Wednesday. Chile will play its most important match of the year as it hosts Uruguay with the winner very likely to go on to claim the silver medal. Brazil will take on soccer rivals and bitter enemies, Argentina also on Wednesday. With Brazil set to host the 2016 Olympic Games in which Rugby Sevens will make its Olympic debut there is a lot of effort going into the abbreviated format of the game. Argentina2023 firmly believes that Brazil will, this this time, be on par with both Chile and Uruguay in the full version of the sport, rugby union.