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Los Mayuatos defeated Santa Fé by a single point on Saturday afternoon to avoid being relegated to the second division of the Torneo Argentino de Uniones. The 21-20 result means Santa Fé will remain in the second division in 2016 in Argentina’s National Provincial Championship.
The game went down to the wire with Santa Fé having an opportunity to win with the final play of the match. Leandro Rivero’s missed kick sealed Santa Fé’s fate, enabling Salta to remain in the top division.
The nail-bitting win was very much he result of a game that had been in the balance throughout. Down 7-3 after 30 minutes the yellow carding of capped second-rower Manuel Plaza ought to have handed Santa Fé an advantage but curiously, winger Eduardo Gómez Naar crossed for two tries during the subsequent 10 minutes to give Salta an 18-7 half time lead.
The injection of former Pumas Sevens star Nicolás Bruzzone in the second half brought a new dynamic to Santa Fé. Indeed, Santa Fé had the better of play in the second half, outscoring Salta 13-3 but missed conversions from Leandro Rivero were costly.
Tries scored by Rivero and Gerónimo Fernández in the 28th and 40th minutes went unconverted forcing Los litoraleños to remain in the second division, the division they have played in for the past five years.
Salta
1 Mariano Rojo, 2 Diego Fortuny, 3 Martín Dahas, 4 Alejandro Chanetón, 5 Manuel Plaza, 6 Francisco Poodts, 7 Santiago Mentesana, 8 José Chiericci, 9 Mauro Perotti, 10 Ramiro Chávez, 11 Marcos Secchi, 12 Gastón Frey, 13 Eduardo Gómez Naar, 14 Gonzalo Torán, 15 Juan Morosini
Santa Fé
1 Matías Rocchi, 2 Pedro Marozzi, 3 Santiago Jelicic, 4 Joaquín Schierano, 5 José Dogliani, 5 José Dogliani, 6 Emanuel Piermarini, 7 Facundo Aimo, 8 Justo Ordano, 9 Estanislao Bay, 10 Leandro Rivero, 11 Tomás Marconi, 12 Gustavo Benítez, 13 Jorge Qüesta, 14 Ian Sbisa, 15 Gerónimo Fernández
