Having won their respective opening games in the South American A Championship, defending champions Chile and Rugby World Cup 2015 participants Uruguay will aim to retain the status quo in the region on Saturday when they travel to Brazil and Paraguay for their second round matches.
Chile will play at the Pacaembú Stadium in Sao Paulo against a Brazilian team that came very close to beating them in in the opening round of the inaugural Americas Rugby Championship in February.
Coach Elías Santillán's side is unrecognisable, however, from the one which edged Os Tupis that day, 25-22. Only five Condores players remain from that starting XV - back-rowers Javier Richard, Cristóbal Niedmann and captain Benjamín Soto, centre Matías Nordenflycht and winger José Ignacio Larenas.
Chile’s 68-7 win against Paraguay in the opening round of the South American A Championship showed just how determined they are to retain the title won last year. But Brazil, no doubt backed by another big crowd, will be fired up and ready to prove that they finished above their opponents in the final Americas Rugby Championship standings entirely on merit. Chile's win against Brazil was their only success of the continental tournament, while Brazil improved with every game, culminating in an historic 24-23 win against the USA, to finish fourth out of the five teams.
This is an important game for Brazilian rugby in general as the Olympic Games host nation looks to build on the positives surrounding last week's 36-14 loss to Uruguay. While the result was not what they would have hoped for, the television ratings beat that of the popular National Basketball League and the 8,000-strong crowd that attended the game in person was bigger than the Brazilian union had anticipated.
The match against Chile will also be broadcast live on the same free-to-air network, and it is one Brazil desperately hopes to win. Os Tupis defeated Chile for only the second time in 23 attempts in 2014.
URUGUAY ON THE RIGHT TRACK
Paraguay coach Eduardo Acosta has brought five new players into his squad following last Saturday’s 68-7 defeat to Chile and is expecting a much-improved performance on home soil against a Uruguayan side that continues to make good headway.
Even so, it would be a huge shock should the Yakarés come out on top at the national rugby stadium, Héroes de Curupaytí. In 24 matches against Los Teros they have yet to win. They did, however, manage a 9-9 draw in 1995.
Uruguay won 77-0 when the sides met last year in Montevideo.
