6 Argentines crowned Iberian Champions with VRAC Quesos

VRAC Quesos are the 2020-2021 Copa Ibérica champions. The northern Spanish side defeated Portuguese club CF Os Belenenses 19-13 in the final.

VRAC are now five time Copa Ibérica champions. The Valladolid side matches El Salvador with five titles. El Salvador last won in the 2016-2017 season. VRAC’s five titles are all recent: 2014-15, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21.

The next best performers all have four titles. They are S.L. Benfica, U.E. Santboiana, and Grupo Desportivo Direito.

The Argentine players who started for VRAC are second-rower Sacha Casañas, scrum half Estanislao Bay, fly half Tomás Carrió, center Guillermo Mateu, winger Axel Papa, and fullback Baltazar Taibo.

Carrió scored 14 points for VRAC. The remaining five were scored by Bay. Thus, Argentine players scored all of VRAC’s points. Carrie is a former Argentina XV player. He also has six caps for Argentina from 2013-2015. He was a starting winger in Argentina’s home match vs Georgia in June 2013.

VRAC’s win was earned. Carrió’s second-half goal-kicking was the difference between the teams. The scores were level at 13-13 at half time. Carrió and João Freudenthal both kicked two penalties and a conversion in the opening half. Diogo Miranda and Estanislao Bay scored first half tries.

Freudenthal recently featured for Portugal. He played fullback in the 2-0 series win over Brazil in November. Winger Rodrigo Marta and flanker David Wallis joined Freudenthal in both the Copa Ib´perica Final and in facing Brazil last month.

SCORING

VRAC QUESOS (19)
Try: Bay (18′)
Conversion: Carrió (19′)
Penalty: Carrió 4 (26′, 35′, 61′, 66′)

CF BELENESES (13)
Try: Miranda (15′)
Conversion: Freudenthal (15′)
Penalty: Freudenthal 2 (32′, 38′)

TEAMS

VRAC QUESOS
1 Raúl Calzón, 2 Álvaro Pírez, 3 Alberto Blanco, 4 Daniel Stöhr, 5 Sacha Casañas, 6 KaloKalo Gavidi, 7 Coke Ortiz, 8 Siosiua Moala, 9 Estanislao Bay, 10 Tomás Carrió, 11 Pedro de la Lastra, 12 Alejandro Alonso, 13 Guillermo Mateu, 14 Axel Papa, 15 Baltazar Taibo

CF BELENESES
1 Anthony Kent, 2 Guillermo Kent, 3 Lucas Bordigoni, 4 Salvador Cunha, 5 Manuel Lima, 6 Sebastião Cunha, 7 David Wallis, 8 Tomás Sequeira, 9 Duarte Azevedo, 10 Diogo Miranda, 11 Diogo Rodrigues, 12 Jose Santos, 13 Rodrigo Marta, 14 Manuel Marta, 15 João Freudenthal