Paraguay completed a shock win over Brazil on Saturday. Played at the Estadio Héroes de Curupayty in Asunción, Los Yakares were 39-19 winners. The outcome means Brazil must win by 21 points or more in the return fixture in seven days time in Jacareí near São Paulo.
Brazil entered the match having won the prior fixture 77-17 in 2024. Brazil was ranked 28th in the world compared to Paraguay’s position of 38th. What went wrong for Os Tupis in Asunción? The answer includes factors such as Paraguay’s team appeared better prepared and had more cohesiveness. They won the battle of the forwards and converted more opportunities.
The lead-up to the match involved a decision from Brasil Rugby (CBRu) to fire Head Coach Emiliano Caffera and replace him with former Head Coach, Josh Reeves. ARN confirmed with sources close to the players that many were unhappy with the direction and thus backed the change. Be that as it may, the timing did not simplify the task of beating Paraguay.
Prop Enrique Quinteros opened the scoring. It came from a mistake from the kick-off which handed Paraguay an attacking opportunity. Winger Juan González was able to split the defense. Recycled ball and option taking from Gonzalo Bareiro then saw Quinteros over.
Brazil’s response came from a long pass from Paraguayan fullback, Joaquín Mussi. Lucas Tranquil intercepted the pass and linked with João do Amaral who scored to male it 7-7.
Sebastian Urbieta put Paraguay back in front with a penalty on 15 minutes. However, lightening struck twice as Brazil produced a second intercept try, this time N8 André Arruda gathered Urbierta’s pass and tan 50 meters to score. Tranquez converted for a 14-10 lead.
Brazil scored again to go further ahead. This time Arruda combined with Robson Morais with the winger over in the corner. It was unconverted and, more importantly, it was Brazil’s last score of the afternoon.
Los Yakares hit-back with Juan José Heisecke scoring a try from a maul. Urbieta landed the sideline conversion to narrow the deficit to two points at half-time. He then put Paraguay ahead in the second-half with a penalty on 48 minutes.
What followed was careless from João do Amaral. With Brazil penalized in their own half, Urbieta lined-up a goal. The kick rebounded off the posts only for do Amaral to not gather it. Flanker Francisco Bareiro did so and scored a gift try. Urbane then added insult to injury with the conversion.
The try of the match came next. Ramiro Amarilla burst through four defenders to go close before Gonzalo Bareiro passed to Arturo López who scored down the right side. Gonzalo Bareiro was again involved as replacement Gastón Salvi scored the game’s final try.
Paraguay’s players celebrated the victory but will need to be cautious as Brazil’s 2024 win is a case in point of what Brazil can do against them. The winner of the series, on aggregate, will face Belgium, Namibia and Samoa in repechage to determine the final competitor for Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia.
- It was Paraguay’s first win over Brazil since 2015.
- It was Paraguay’s biggest win over Brazil since winning 45-08 in 2005.
- Replacements Gustavo Gobeti, Vicente Galvão and Renato Santos made their test debuts for Brazil.
- Moisés Duque earned his 66th cap, extending his record as Brazil’s most capped player in history.
- The winner of the two match series, on aggregate, will join Belgium, Namibia and Samoa in repechage. The winner of the tournament in November will secure the last remaining place at Australia 2027.
PARAGUAY (39)
TRY – E Quinteros, JJ Heisecke, F Bareiro, A López, G Salvi
CON – S Urbieta (4)
PEN – S Urbieta (2)
BRAZIL (19)
TRY – J do Amaral, A Arruda, R Morais
CON – L Tranquez (2)
PARAGUAY
15 Joaquín Mussi, 14 Arturo López, 13 Rafael Bareiro, 12 Ramiro Amarilla, 11 Juan González, 10 Sebastián Urbieta, 9 Gonzalo Bareiro, 8 Ignacio Martínez, 7 Ariel Núñez, 6 Francisco Bareiro, 5 Juan José Heisecke, 4 Mariano Garcete (capt.), 3 Enrique Quinteros, 2 Agustín Benítez, 1 Camilo Blasco
Replacements: 16 Jordi Chávez, 17 Gastón Salvi, 17 Cesár Pérez, 19 Adrián León, 20 Carlos Plate, 21 Diego Miño, 22 Facundo Paiva, 23 Gianfranco Parodi
BRAZIL
15 Lucas Tranquez, 14 Robert Tenório, 13 João Amaral, 12 Antonio Zanatta, 11 Robson Morais, 10 Thiago Oviedo, 9 Lucas Spago, 8 André Arruda, 7 Matheus Cláudio, 6 Cleber Dias (capt.), 5 Hélder Lúcio, 4 Ben Donald, 3 Wilton Rebolo, 2 Endy Willian Pinheiro, 1 Brendon Alves
Replacements: 16 Henrique Ferreira, 17 Vicente Galvão, 18 Tiago Santos, 19 Gabriel Oliveira, 20 Adrio de Melo, 21 Renato Santos, 22 Gustavo Gobeti, 23 Moisés Duque
Video: To Follow
Referee: Francisco Gonzalez (Uruguay)
Assistant Referees: Juan Martínez (Argentina); Federico Longobardi (Argentina)
TMO: Ignacio Calle (Chile)
