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Brazil and Colombia meet on Saturday. Their fixture is a final round fixture in the inaugural Sudamericano 6 Naciones A. Upon drawing up the match schedule little did the organizers know that this would be the pivotal game in the final round.
Brazil’s stunning win over the Argentina XV last weekend in Buenos Aires combined with defeating Chile in São Paulo means destiny is in the hands of Os Tupis. None of the five other teams in the Sudamericano 6 Naciones A won in both rounds one and two.
Colombia went up against the Uruguay XV in the opening round, losing at home in Medellín. In round two Los Tucanes placed some scintillating rugby against Paraguay. In what was a classic encounter Colombia was well positioned to win before running out of steam in the second half.
Against Brazil the Colombians will be playing on holy ground. The match has been moved to SPAC, a traditional rugby club in Brazil with a history dating back to 1888.
Brazilian Head Coach Rodolfo Ambrosio has made five changes from Buenos Aires. With it he is putting out his strongest side of the year. The back-line is arguably the strongest ever fielded by Brazil.
Daniel Sancery is back from injury to earn his first cap of 2018. He starts at fullback with Lucas Tranquez moving to play left wing. There is also a change at right wing with Stefano Giantorno into the team. Both Ariel Rodrigues and de wet van Niekerk lose their starting wing positions with the latter occupying a place on the bench.
The remaining backs are unchanged. Lucas Duque and Josh Reeves will start at scrum-half and fly half respectively while Moisés Duque and Felipe Sancery will play in the mid-field.
In the forwards Ambrosio has named Jonatas Paulo to replace Lucas Abud at loosehead prop. He joins the impressive Jardel Vettorato and captain Yan Rosetti in the front-row.
In the second-row Cléber Días replaces Lucas Piero to join Gabriel Paganini in locking the scrum. behind them will be a back-row of Arthur Bergo, João Luiz da Ros, and Michael Morais. Missing out is Matheus Claudio with Morais starting in a re-organized trio.
At the time of publication the Colombian line-up for the match was yet to be confirmed. The roster is the same to that which faced Paraguay in Asunción. Los Tucanes have proven in the Sudamericano 6 Naciones A to have some gifted performers.
Captain Sebastián Mejía is Colombia’s go-to performer. The Sergio Parisse of Colombia will be in an enticing tussle with João Luiz da Ros will be a highlight.
Both hooker Jorge Álvarez and winger Arley Urrutia scored two tries against Paraguay. The former did so with a combination of strength and rugby know-how. The latter simply blitzed the Paraguayan defense. Urrutia was reminiscent of a Fijian on the world stage. These two combined with captain Mejía are to be Colombia’s most potent players against Brazil.
The team’s have met on ten prior occasions. Brazil has won every time, most recently doing son by a 44-0 scoreline in São Paulo in 2015. That match was a repechage fixture for the former South American A Championship. This Saturday they meet as part of the continent’s top flight.
The match in SPAC puts together a team of semi-professional players against an amateur side. Brazil are expected to win by 30 or more points and seal the Sudamericano 6 Naciones A title.
BRAZIL
15 Daniel Sancery, 14 Stefano Giantorno, 13 Felipe Sancery, 12 Moisés Duque, 11 Lucas Tranquez, 10 Josh Reeves, 9 Lucas Duque, 8 João Luiz da Ros, 7 Arthur Bergo, 6 Michael Morais, 5 Gabriel Paganini, 4 Cléber Días, 3 Jardel Vettorato, 2 Yan Rosetti (capt.), 1 Jonatas Paulo
Replacements: 16 Luan Almeida, 17 Wilton Rebolo, 18 Lucas Abud, 19 Lucas Piero, 20 André Arruda, 21 Will Broderick, 22 de wet van Niekerk, 23 Valentin Garcia
COLOMBIA ROSTER
Diego Andrés Posada Giraldo, Andrés Felipe Arango Aguilera, Mauricio Espinal Vargas, Jorge Andrés, Sebastián Arroyave Gil, John Carlos Alvarez Grajales, Danny Esteban Giraldo Mesa, Juan Felipe Aguirre Ardila, Camilo Cadavid, Gerson Ortiz, Sebastián Mejía, Diver Jefferson Ceballos Salazar, Julián Andrés Navarro Londoño, Alejandro Vanegas Rodrigues, Emmanuel Bedoya, Jhojan Alexander Ortiz Arango, José Manuel Diosa, Juan Gabriel Davila, Jhon Arley Urrutia, Maicol Ivan Machado, Andrés Felipe Alvarez, Ferney Santiago Mejía, Neider Enrique García
Venue: SPAC, São Paulo
Date: Saturday, May 19
Kick-off: 3pm (Brasilia)
Referee: Damian Schneider (Argentina)
Assistant Referees: Cauã Ricardo (Brazil) and Lucas Sacomanno (Brazil)
