Dogos vs Yacare SRA Semi Final Decided in Sudden Death

It went into overtime. The second of two Super Rugby Americas 2024 Semi Finals was decided in Sudden Death. Played at Tala RC in Córdoba, Los Dogos eliminated Yacare with a long-range penalty. The 17-14 win was a come-from-behind victory after the Paraguayan side had been on top well into the second-half.

Unlike the first Semi Final, which was high-scoring, the second was low-scoring and try tight. Los Pampas were 50-27 winners over Peñarol. That result eliminated the two-time defending Super Rugby Americas champions. It also meant Buenos Aires will host the 2024 final.

Los Pampas’ opponent in the Final will be Los Dogos. The all-Argentine final is the result of a 14-14 scoreline on full-time followed by a strike from replacement Juan Bautista Baronio. The cruel blow set Yacare out after the Paraguayan side had had their own against the hosts in Córdoba.

Defense was at the forefront throughout the contest. The opening quarter saw neither side missing a beat. The ferocious defense saw players taken t the ground withe force and early HIA examinations.

Julián Hernández broke the deadlock. Pressure finally saw the Mendoza fly half darting through the defense to score. He slotted his own conversion. His try was a result of a clean break from a Puma in waiting; young highly promotions scrum-half Agustín Moyano.

Yacare were frustrated by the score but quickly found their resolve. Joaquín Lamas landed two penalties in response to make it a one point deficit.

The second-half was even tighter. Yacare hooker Axel Zapata ran clear to score a 49th minute try. Lamas converted for a 14-7 lead. It turned out to be the final points for Yacare, though Lamas missed two very difficult opportunities from long-range.

Meanwhile, Los Dogos were in a race against time to comeback. The Córdobans were performing well in the scrum but their lineout was a train-wreck until late in the half. This coincide with Yacare defending superbly and avoiding conceding points.

Pumitas captain Efraín Elías moved to be the front lineout target. An attacking move followed with Agustín Moyano breaking clear. The scrum-half had his second try assist of the match. He darted infield before his 30 meter run concluded with center Leonardo Gea Salim’ support line seeing him power over to score.

Hernández landed the conversion to lock-up the scores. Although the match was 14-14, Los Dogos now had momentum. They won an attacking penalty with less than two minutes left on the match-clock. For an unknown reason, Franco Molina opted to kick for the corner. Los Dogos went for a lineout to maul try only to be stopped. Hernández went for a drop-goal from the resulting try zone drop-out. The narrow miss sent the match into overtime.

Yacare did well to gain possession and territory at the start of sudden death. They won a penalty from which Lamas put in a tactical quick and Juan González came close to scoring from. Los Dogos narrowly had on before winning a penalty of their own.

Play continued with Los Dogos getting out of their danger zone and into the opposition half. They then won a penalty from which Juan Bautista Baronio slotted the match-winner. The long-range penalty sees an all-argentina SRA final confirmed for Buenos Aires next Saturday.

SCORING

DOGOS (17)
Try (2) – J Hernández (23′), L Gea Salim (69′)
Con (2) – J Hernández (24′, 70′)
Pen (1) – JB Baronio (87′)

YACARE (14)
Try (1) – A Zapata (49′)
Pen (3) – J Lamas (34′, 37′, 55′)

LINEUPS

DOGOS
1 Boris Wenger, 2 Tomás Bartolini, 3 Octavio Filippa, 4 Lautaro Simes, 5 Franco Molina (capt.), 6 Aitor Bildosola, 7 Valentín Cabral, 8 Efraín Elías, 9 Agustín Moyano, 10 Julián Hernández, 11 Felipe Mallía, 12 Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, 13 Leonardo Gea Salim, 14 Lautaro Cipriani, 15 Mateo Soler

Replacements: 16 Santos Juárez Estrada, 17 Juan Aguirre, 18 Pedro Delgado, 19 Lorenzo Colidio, 20 Facundo García Hamilton, 21 Nicolás Viola, 22 Juan Bautista Baronio, 23 Agustín de Vertíz

YACARE
1 Ezequiel Reyes, 2 Axel Zapata, 3 Luis Enrique Quinteros, 4 Lucio Anconetani, 5 Mariano Garcete (capt.), 6 Juan Cruz Pérez Rachel, 7 Felipe Puertas, 8 Nicolás Parada Heit, 9 Juan Cruz Strada, 10 Joaquín Lamas, 11 Juan González, 12 Sebastián Urbieta, 13 Ramiro Amarilla, 14 Arturo López, 15 Ramiro Moyano

Replacements: 16 Ignacio Palillo, 17 Camilo Blasco, 18 Rolando Portillo, 19 Juan José Heisecke, 20 Ariel Núñez, 21 Gonzalo Bareiro, 22 Tomás Vanni, 23 Joaquín Mussi

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

OFFICIALS

Referee: Tomás Bertazza (AR)
Assistant Referees: Gonzalo de Archival (AR); Juan Martínez (AR)
TMO:  Marcelo Pilara (AR)