ARC Preview – Brazil

It’s almost here, the groundbreaking new test rugby tournament begins this Saturday. The bringing together of Rugby World Cup regulars Argentina, Canada, and the USA along with the rapidly developing Uruguay, Brazil, and Chile gives the Americas a legitimate and highly promising platform for rugby to grow throughout the region.

2015 FORM

Brazil is entering the Americas Rugby Championship as the odds on favorite for the Wooden Spoon. This ought not come as a surprise based on the comparable histories of the six competitors or on Americas Rugby Rankings. Due to a lack of postitive results in 2014 and 2015 Brazil remains ranked below Paraguay, a country not involved in the competition for the time being.

In 2015 Brazil was winless in the South American A Championship. Losing 48-9 and 32-3 against Uruguay and Chile was followed by a 20-11 home defeat against Paraguay. The result forced the Tupis to compete in South American repechage against the South American B Championship winners, Colombia. A comprehensive 44-0 win sealed Brazil’s place and enabled attention to turn to the ARC.

POST-RWC 2015

The fixture against Colombia was after the World Cup, as were two home tests against Germany. The dates of these matches were intentionally positioned to fall after the global event in England and Wales. It enabled the sport to be marketed as strongly as possible to a public who had all 48 World Cup matches on live television.

Brazil’s games against Germany and Colombia were also broadcast live. They served their purpose well of preparing the team and winning over new supporters. While Brazil was able to play some good rugby the team was, by and large, exposed in a number of areas such as the high ball, broken play and at the lineout. Germany won the matches 29-12 and 31-7 in front of vibrant and vocal home crowds.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

The ever-growing player base in Brazil has now reached 60,000. This number includes 11,000 players in official competitions administered by the appropriate authorities. The best of these players are now to play in the ARC.

Of Brazil’s 31-man roster, seven players play for foreign clubs. They are a mixture of Brazilian born players and players who qualify on eligibility. This means that Brazil’s players are overwhelmingly local products and the array of clubs represented on the roster is highly encouraging. The states of Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo all have players involved.

Brazil’s most famous prodct, Fernando Portugal hung up his boots after the German tour and his replacement vs Colombia, Felipe Sancery stepped in to steal the show against Los Tucanes. The Franco-Brazilian scored two tries and constantly threatened the Colombian defense.

San Luis winger Stefano Giantorno was another to shine. His genuine finishing abilities will provide Brazil with an attacking weapon. Veteran São José flyhalf Lucas Duque will be called upon to marshall the play and certainly has the means and know-how to effectively do so.

Up front Jardel Vettorato had the better of the Germans at scrum time. The tighthead succeeded in winning his team countless penalties. At the back of the scrum, no8 Nick Smith has been in the mix for a long time and is a very reliable ball-carrying option.

VERDICT

Win, lose, or draw, involvement in this tournament is nothing short of spectacular for Brazil, the world’s fifth-most populated country. With a population of 204 million the marketing potential for rugby in the country is endless. Currently Brazil has 3 million rugby fans and a further 7 million interested in the sport. The numbers are growing every year despite a lack of exposure for the Brazilian team. Brazil’s level is likely to rise in the coming years but for the present point in time the Tupis are unlikely to win a game. Brazil to finish bottom.

FIXTURES

Feb 6	vs Chile	Santiago	18:10 Chile, 19:00 Brasilia
Feb 13	vs Uruguay	São Paulo	20:10 Brasilia
Feb 20	vs Canada	Langford	16:00 PST, 22:00 Brasilia
Feb 27	vs USA	São Paulo	20:00 Brasilia
Mar 5	vs Argentina	São José dos Campos	20:10 Brasilia

SQUAD

NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	DOB	CAPS	CLUB
Abud, Lucas	PR	1.88 6-2	120 265	Aug 26 1993		S.P.A.C.
Ancina, Vitor	PR	1.80 5-11	120 265	Nov 24 1987		Curitiba
Paulo, Jonatas	PR	1.76 5-9	110 240	May 14 1985		Band Saracens
Rebolo, Wilton	PR	1.82 6-0	116 255	Aug 2 1995		São José
Silva, Caique	PR	1.93 6-4	135 295			C.U.Q. (AR)
Vettorato, Jardel	PR	1.79 5-10	118 260	Oct 22 1985		San Diego
Danielewicz, Daniel	HO	1.74 5-9	102 225	Aug 8 1982		Desterro
Rosetti, Yan	HO	1.72 5-8	92 200	May 7 1993		C.U.B.A. (AR)
Piero, Lucas	LO	1.87 6-2	107 235	Sep 25 1991		Desterro
Tissot, Felipe	LO	1.96 6-5	115 255	Feb 4 1988		Curitiba
Vieira, Luiz	LO	1.93 6-4	105 230	1994		Oyonnax (FR)
Wolf, Matheus	LO	1.93 6-4	96 210	1995		Joaca
Bergo, Arthur	FL	1.88 6-2	95 210	Mar 7 1994		S.P.A.C.
da Ros, João Luiz	FL/N8	1.86 6-1	101 220	Jul 10 1982		Desterro
Dias, Cléber	FL	1.93 6-4	105 230	Jul 3 1994		Wallys
Jackson, Mark	FL	1.80 5-11	100 220	Apr 7 1987		Desterro
López, Diego	FL	1.90 6-3	100 220	Mar 16 1987		Pasteur
Paganini, Gabriel	FL	1.92 6-4	101 220	Mar 4 1993		Band Saracens
Arruda, André	N8/FL	1.90 6-3	103 225	Jan 9 1989		Desterro
Smith, Nick	N8	1.86 6-1	106 235	May 1 1986		S.P.A.C.
Bourda-Couhet, Laurent	SH/FB	1.70 5-7	75 165	Jul 12 1994		Band Saracens
Cremer, Beukes	SH	1.81 5-11	88 195	Oct 21 1987		Pasteur
Duque, Lucas	SH/FH	1.70 5-7	83 180	Mar 15 1984		São José
Cruz, Matheus	FH	? ?	? ?	Feb 24 1996		Jacareí
Harvey, David	FH	1.76 5-9	88 195	May 20 1983		NSW Country (AU)
Tenório, Robert	FH	1.88 6-2	90 200	1995		Pasteur
Duque, Moisés	CE	1.75 5-9	92 200	Dec 21 1988		São José
Estrela, Mateus	CE	1.75 5-9	80 175	Nov 13 1995		Niterói
Lopes, Pedro	CE	1.79 5-10	97 215	Dec 8 1992		São José
Sancery, Felipe	CE	1.85 6-1	92 200	May 27 1994		Albi (FR)
Schaefer, Martin	CE	1.83 6-0	96 210	Oct 18 1989		S.P.A.C.
Coghetto, Guilherme	WI/FB	1.78 5-10	90 200	May 2 1992		Farrapos
Giantorno, Stefano	WI	1.73 5-8	80 175			San Luis (AR)
Machado, Yan	WI	1.75 5-9	86 190	Nov 3 1992		Curitiba
Muller, Lucas	WI	1.84 6-0	82 180	Feb 13 1990		Desterro
Tranquez, Lucas	WI/FB	1.83 6-0	93 205	Mar 12 1994		S.P.A.C.
Sancery, Daniel	FB	1.85 6-1	92 200	May 27 1994		Albi (FR)

*cap totals not immediately available