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Uruguay ‘A’ downed Brazil ‘A’ this evening. The team playing in sky-blue shirts converted a 25-0 half time lead into a 28-12 victory. They did so on home soil at the Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo.
The Uruguayans strong opening was enough to win comfortably despite being outscored 12-3 in the second half. The solid opening included two tries before the match clock had reached the 15 minute mark.
The scoring began in the third minute. 22-year-old fly half Matias D’Avanzo underlined why he is a promising talent for Uruguay. He landed an early penalty from and went on to score 13 points in the match.
The first try came from a lineout and maul. Hooker Emiliano Faccennini was the benefactor. It was followed by a wonderful score from Koba Brazionis. Slick hands and a clever angle saw Brazionis glide through the defense. His try gave Uruguay an 18-0 lead.
Brazil were down on the scoresheet and under pressure in general play. The penalty count worked against them; Endy Willian was yellow carded in the 29th minute. The infringement was followed by Uruguay scoring their third try, this time using a lineout with a fake maul. Prop Ignacio Péculo showed good strength to touch down in the try zone.
Brazil improved in the second half. They scored both tries of the second 40 minutes, doing so while rain fell heavily. The first try was a lineout and maul combination. Hunger to reach the try line saw inside backs Douglas Rauth and Lucas Spago joining in to help the shove forward. Replacement hooker Leonardo de Souza was awarded the try.
The final score was also a case of what Uruguay could do so too could Brazil. Spago burst through to score an impressive try. It came thirteen minutes from full-time.
The players now have three rest days before round two. Next up for Uruguay ‘A’ will be the tough assignment of Chile ‘A’. The Chileans were 62-0 winners over Paraguay ‘A’ in their first match. Brazil ‘A’ face the USA selects in their second match. It will be the first for the USA Selects after their game against the Argentina XV was canceled.
SCORING
URUGUAY 28
Tries – E. Faccennini (9′), K. Brazionis (14′), I. Péculo (30′)
Cons – M. D’Avanzo 2/3 (10′, 15′)
Pens – M. D’Avanzo 3/3 (3′, 40′, 56′)
BRAZIL 12
Tries – L. de Souza (59′), L. Spago (67′)
Cons – L. Spago 0/1, C. Moura 1/1 (68′)
YC – E. Willian (29′)
TEAMS
URUGUAY ‘A’
1 Mateo Perillo (16 Santiago Bonasso 50′), 2 Emiliano Faccennini (17 Nicolás Arciet 75′), 3 Ignacio Péculo (18 Faustino Etchegorry 50′), 4 Felipe Aliaga (19 Federico Dibueno 65′-70′), 5 Juanjuan Garese (capt.) (20 Lucas Piriz 45′), 6 Lucas Bianchi, 7 Tomás Etcheverry (19 Federico Dibueno 70′), 8 Carlos Deus, 9 Santiago Álvarez (22 Santiago Percivale 60′), 10 Matías D’Avanzo (21 Juan Zuccarino 60′), 11 Bautista Basso, 12 Felipe Arcos Pérez, 13 Koba Brazionis (23 Santiago Gervaz 65′), 14 Mateo Viñals, 15 Baltazar Amaya
BRAZIL ‘A’
1 Brendon Alves (17 Piero Pozzi 44′), 2 Endy Willian (16 Leonardo de Souza HT), 3 Henrique Ferreira (18 Joel Ramírez HT), 4 Gabriel Paganini (19 Gabriel Oliveira HT), 5 Kauã Guimarães, 6 Pedro Aparecido, 7 Adrio de Melo (20 Maiki dos Santos 77′), 8 Matheus Cláudio (capt.), 9 Douglas Rauth (21 Felipe Cunha 67′), 10 Lucas Spago, 11 Robert Tenório, 12 Joel Santos, 13 Gabriel Quirino (22 Carlos Moura 55′), 14 Victor Domingues (16 Leonardo de Souza 34′-39′) (23 Robson Morais HT), 15 Daniel Lima
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Gonzalo de Achaval (Argentina)
Assistants: Tomás Bertazza (Argentina) & Frank Méndez (Chile)
TMO: Francisco Pesce (Uruguay)
