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The American Raptors have done it. The team from Colorado completed their first win in Super Rugby Americas. The 26-22 win saw the home side in control for the bulk of the contest. A late fightback saw Selknam claim two bonus points.
The result was a remarkable turn-around. Six days ago the Raptors were humiliated 65-0 at home by Los Pampas. The Raptors are now less than a win behind Os Cobras.
There was an early set-back for both teams. The Raptors lost Shawn Clark to a 3rd minute yellow card and Javier Carrasco was temporarily off from a knock four minutes later. The one man disadvantage made no difference as the Raptors came right to score the opening try. Lucas González Amorosino was the creator and Daytwon Sheridan completed a sensational finish.
Selknam took time to find their feet. When they did hooker Diego Escobar darted over. His 22nd minute try was quickly cancelled out; Shawn Clark scored for the Raptors several minutes later. Lucas González Amorosino landed the conversion for a 12-5 lead. It would remain as such until the second-half.
The goal-kicking was a feature of how the match played out. González Amorosino landed 1/3 from his attempted conversions but was 3/3 from penalties. Meanwhile, Matías Garafulic was far below his best with a 1/4 return. Of note is that he handled the kicking despite the reliable Santiago Videla also playing the full 80 minutes.
Ethan McVeigh crossed for the third Raptors try. The 49th minute score was their final try of the match. The Raptors were comfortably ahead leading 17-5. The Colorado side turned their attention to shots at goal. González Amorosino obliged with three successful kicks. It took the team up to 26 points.
At the other end of the field, scoring was hard going for most of the second-half. Replacement Gaspar Moltedo scored with his first touch of the ball. The 55th minute try brought the team back but González Amorosino responded with two penalties.
With the result confirmed but time remaining, Selknam clicked to score a late double. Replacements Nicolás Herreros and Ignacio Silva scored in the final minutes to get one bonus point for four tries and another for losing by a margin of under 7.
The result brings with it a series of questions for the upcoming weeks of Super Rugby Americas. Can the Raptors move off bottom spot? Will Selknam miss out on the play-off’s? Are Selknam shooting themselves in the foot by rotating too much?
SCORING
RAPTORS (26)
Try – D Sheridan (11′); S Clark (28′); E McVeigh (49′)
Con – L González Amorosino 1/3 (29′)
Pen – L González Amorosino 3/3 (52′, 64′, 72′)
YC – S Clark (3′); J Echeverría (80′)
SELKNAM (22)
Try – D Escobar (22′); G Moltedo (55′); N Herreros (76′); I Silva (80′)
Con – M Garafulic 1/4 (58′)
TEAMS
RAPTORS
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 2 Diego Fortuny (capt.), 3 Ma’ake Muti, 4 Diego Magno, 5 Will Crawford, 6 Shawn Clark, 7 Tommy Clark, 8 Ronan Murphy, 9 Ethan McVeigh, 10 Lucas González Amorosino, 11 Daytwon Sheridan, 12 Aki Pulu, 13 Watson Filikitonga, 14 Ryan James, 15 Line Latu
Replacements: 16 Jack Manso, 17 Sebastian Otero, 18 Juan Echeverria, 19 Max Dacey, 20 Siaki Vikilani, 21 Martín Landajo, 22 Cassh Maluia, 23 Patrick Madden
SELKNAM
1 Javier Carrasco, 2 Diego Escobar, 3 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 4 Santiago Pedrero, 5 Javier Eissmann, 6 Clemente Saavedra, 7 Raimundo Martínez, 8 Alfonso Escobar, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Rodrigo Fernández, 11 Matías Garafulic, 12 Pablo Casas, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 14 Lukas Carvallo, 15 Santiago Videla (capt.)
Replacements: 16 Jorge Delgado, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Esteban Inostroza, 19 Thomas Orchard, 20 Ignacio Silva, 21 Nicolás Herreros, 22 Gaspar Moltedo, 23 Joaquín Milesi
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Francisco González (UY)
Assistant Referees: Michel Lawrenson (US); Phil Schwan (US)
TMO: Marc Nelson (US)
