Paraguay Advance in Rugby World Cup 2027 Qualifying

With their biggest win over Colombia in over a decade, Paraguay have successfully advanced in Rugby World Cup 2027 Qualifying. Paraguay were 49-18 winners over Colombia on Wednesday in Asunción. The outcome of the match means Paraguay have booked the final spot in the Sudamericano 2025 alongside Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.

 

MATCH REPORT vs

Colombia opened the scoring in Asunción. Offside play saw Paraguay penalized with Los Tucanes captain Jhojan Ortíz slotting a 4th minute penalty. The lead was held over a notable period of time in which Colombia’s scrum successfully fended off Paraguay close to the try zone.

Paraguay’s attempts at scoring via maul to lineout, through use of the scrum or phase play were held out throughout the course of the opening quarter. Paraguay’s first points came on 23 minutes with Joaquín Mussi landing a regulation penalty from in front of the posts.

The first try followed. It came with misfortune for Colombia and fortune for Paraguay. A half-break from Arturo Lopez was saw the fullback passing to winger Juan González only for the ball to bounce forward from his lower chest. González collected the bounce and scored under the posts. Mussi converted for a 10-3 lead.

Ortíz added a second penalty for Colombia while the second try was also scored by Paraguay. On 32 minutes, flanker Ariel Núñez burst forward to latch on to a pass and cross into the try zone. Mussi missed the conversion.

A loose pass from Paraguay saw Colombia punishing the home side on 36 minutes. Alejandro Guisao  gathered the ball and ran 60 meters to score. Ortíz missed the conversion. It was the least of Colombia’s concerns as Paraguay scored shortly thereafter. N8 Gonzalo Camusio ran from a scrum and after 25 meters he off-loaded from there floor for scrum-half Gonzalo Bareiro to score.

Paraguay’s 22-11 half-time lead was quickly added to in the second-half. Camusio scored from a push-over scrum try in the 41st minute. Mussi converted and added a penalty in the 47th minute.

Los Yacares added to their lead with an impressive try. Second-rower Ignacio Martínez broke through following a fake maul attack. The outcome was Martínez ran 15 meters to score under the posts. Juan José Heisecke joined him for a second-row double. He touched down as Colombia looked to secure defensive ball inside their own try zone.

Gonzalo Camusio added his second try to take Paraguay top 49 points. It was unconverted. Colombia’s response came with time up. Jhojan Ortíz finished off a breakaway try for Los Tucanes. It added some respectability to the scoresheet. Nonetheless, Paraguay ultimately were convincing winners and Colombia have now been eliminated.

 

SOUTH AMERICAN RWC QUALIFYING PICTURE

Paraguay eliminated Colombia. The 49-18 win over Colombia was Paraguay’s biggest win over Los Tucanes since the 54-17 win in 2012. In the matches since then Colombia records three wins over Paraguay from 2018-2019. Paraguay has since regained the upper hand to now be firmly regarded as South America 5 behind Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil.

Next up for Paraguay will be the Sudamericano 2025. The pathway there is a combination of Paraguay losing to both Brazil and Chile in 2024 and Colombia defeating Costa Rica and Venezuela. Paraguay’s win over Colombia confirms the final stage of South America’s Rugby World Cup 2027 Qualifiers.

The champion of the Sudamericano 2025 will qualify for Rugby World Cup 2027 as South America 1. That team will join Argentina as the second South American competitor confirmed for Australia 2027.

The runner-up of the Sudamericano 2025 will face the bottom team from the 2025 Pacific Nations Cup in winner goes to the Rugby World Cup. The third placed team from the Sudamericano 2025 will advance to the Final Place Play-Off tournament to determine the 24th competitor at the World Cup.

 

RWC QUALIFIER vs SCORING

PARAGUAY
Try – J González (26′); A Núñez (32′); G Bareiro (39′); G Camusio (41′ 67′); I Martínez (54′)
Con – J Mussi (26′, 40′, 42′, 55′)
Pen – J Mussi (23′, 47′)

COLOMBIA (from)
Try – A Guisao (36′); J Ortíz (80′)
Con – J Ortíz (80′)
Pen – J Ortíz (4′, 30′)

 

RWC QUALIFIER vs TEAMS

PARAGUAY
1 Daniel Cabral, 2 Jordi Chávez, 3 Estefano Aranda, 4 Ignacio Martínez, 5 Juan José Heisecke, 6 Mateo Rodríguez, 7 Ariel Núñez, 8 Gonzalo Camusio, 9 Gonzalo Bareiro, 10 Joaquín Mussi, 11 Juan González, 12 Sebastián Urbieta, 13 Ramiro Amarilla, 14 Facundo Paiva, 15 Arturo Lopez

Replacements: 16 Agustin Benitez, 17 Cesar Pérez, 18 Rolando Portillo, 19 Camilo Blasco, 20 Francisco Bareiro, 21 Diego Miño, 22 Rafael Bareiro, 23 Gianfranco Parodi

COLOMBIA (from)
1 Juan Herrera, 2 Pablo Llanos, 3 Sebastián Benítes, 4 Héctor Navarro, 5 Danny Giraldo, 6 Luis Giraldo, 7 Diver Ceballos, 8 Cristian Rodellegas, 9 Juan Romero, 10 Daniel Sánchez, 11 Neider García, 12 Jhojan Ortíz (capt.), 13 Juan Agudelo, 14 Jhon Quiñones, 15 Alejandro Guisao

Replacements: 16 Juan Alzate, 17 Yerson Pérez, 18 Yani Pérez, 19 Wilson Olave, 20 Juan Ruiz, 21 José Huertas, 22 Andrés Mosquera, 23 Andrés Tellez

 

MATCH DETAILS

Venue: Estadio Héroes de Curupayty, Asunción, PY
Date: Wednesday, October 16
Kick-Off: 8pm (PY); 6pm (CO)
Referee: Damian Schneider (AR)