Olímpia down Cafeteros in final round of regular season

A confident Olímpia Lions were 51-33 winners over Los Cafeteros Pro this afternoon. The in-form Olímpia go in to their Semi Final against Los Jaguares XV looking to cause an upset. Their win over Los Cafeteros Pro was the first match of the final round of the SLAR regular season and the 28th match overall.

The season is over for Los Cafeteros Pro. The Colombian side were winless, though achieved more than what had been expected of them. The team was competitive in most matches. Today was no exception; Los Cafeteros Pro secured a bonus point for scoring four or more tries. The team scored five tries, four of which came in the second half.

The first half was dominated by the Olímpia Lions. The Paraguayan side was 21-0 up after 34 minutes. Winger Juan González and back-rowers Marcos Riquelme and Ignacio Gandini all scored. Máximo Ledesma was on target with all three conversion attempts.

Los Cafeteros Pro responded in the final minutes of the first half. Hooker Juan David Herrera went over for the first try for the Colombian side. It was converted by Andrés Álvarez who entered the match early from the bench to replace Johan Ortíz at fly half.

The second half began with the Olímpia Lions responding to Herrera’s try. His opposite, Mariano Muntaner, charged over to give the Paraguayan side a bonus point. The Olímpia Lions scored three further tries for the match while the Colombians scored four.

Back-to-back tries saw forwards Enzo Ocampo and Felipe Puertas scoring from pick-and-go plays. Both were responded to from the Olímpia Lions with tries of their own. Then, with ten minutes remaining Argentine center Santiago Resino scored and center Gonzalo García then gave Los Cafeteros Pro with hope of a late comeback win with his 75th minute score.

There was time for a further Lions score. Replacement Mariano Garcete saw the team beyond 50 points and settled to result. The win will encourage Paraguayan rugby. Paraguay and Colombia will meet in a RWC 2023 qualifier next month in Montevideo. Of note is that Los Cafeteros Pro played with a notably higher number of Colombians than did the Olímpia Lions with Paraguayans.

Many Argentine players will be turning out for the Olímpia Lions in the Semi Final. For them it will be a battle against their countrymen as the Lions face Los Jaguares XV in the final four. Selknam and Peñarol clash in the other Semi Final.

SCORING

CAFETEROS PRO 33
Try: Herrera 37′, Ocampo 46′ Puertas 57′, Resino 70′, G García 75′
Conversion: Álvarez 34 – 9′, 47′ 58′, 76′

OLÍMPIA LIONS 51
Try: Riquelme 15′, González 24′, Gandini 33′, Muntaner 42′, Diez 62′, Bogado 65′, Garcete 78′
Conversion: Ledesma 3 – 15′, 25′ 34′, Urbieta 66′
Penalty: Ledesma 2 – 3′, 10′

TEAMS

CAFETEROS PRO
1 Yani Pérez, 2 Juan David Herrera, 3 Jorge Álvarez, 4 Danny Giraldo, 5 Jhon Álvarez (capt.), 6 Diver Ceballos, 7 Enzo Ocampo, 8 Felipe Puertas, 9 Julián Navarro, 10 Johan Ortíz, 11 Álvaro Gamarra, 12 Tomás García, 13 Santiago Resino, 14 Cristian Rodallegas, 15 Facundo Ferrario

Replacements: 16 Agustín Acosta, 17 Javier Corvalán, 18 Diego Posada, 19 Lautaro Simes, 20 Tomás Etcheverry, 21 Gonzalo García, 22 Andrés Álvarez, 23 Gerson Ortíz

OLÍMPIA LIONS
1 Rodrigo Martínez, 2 Mariano Muntaner, 3 Lucas Favre, 4 Carlos Repetto, 5 Mauro Rebussone, 6 Marcos Riquelme, 7 Lucas Santa Cruz, 8 Ignacio Gandini, 9 Ignacio Inchauspe (capt.), 10 Máximo Ledesma, 11 Juan González, 12 Tomás Acosta Pimentel, 13 Diego Argaña, 14 Renato Cardona, 15 Francisco Diez

Replacements: 16 Axel Zapata, 17 Martín Sitjar, 18 Daniel Cabral, 19 Mariano Garcete, 20 Matías Gómez Vara, 21 Joaquín Pellandini, 22 Sebastián Urbieta, 23 Martín Bogado

Venue: Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo
Referee: Damian Schneider (Argentina)