Can South America catch rugby fever?
Rio de Janeiro will be at the center of the sporting universe come August 2016 when the Olympic torch lights up at Estádio do Maracanã. Rugby will join the party of modern olympics and our sport’s best athletes will take center stage next to the likes of athletics legend Usain Bolt. As Brazil’s former capital prepares to become the capital of world rugby for a few weeks, I can imagine fans from other, more “oval-minded” regions wondering what type of opposition the All Black 7s, Team Great Britain or the Blitz Bokke will face when they come to South America for the ultimate prize in sevens: olympic gold.
Brazil have guaranteed entry into the 12-team tournament and their local union has been busy at work spreading rugby amongst the most soccer-obsessed populace on the planet. Both the Confederação Brasileira de Rugby (CBRu) and the brazilian players are aware of the huge task ahead of them. The Tupís, named after an Amazonian ethnic group in Brazil, need to have some things in place in order to give an up-to-par performance and perhaps even cause a famous upset.
Their strength was tested on february 23rd and 24rd when the Clube de Regatas do Flamengo in Rio hosted the South American Rugby Sevens Championship, pitting 10 national men’s teams and 8 women’s teams against each other for continental top dog status and a place in this year’s Rugby World Cup Sevens which in the end went to runner-ups Uruguay. A draw against Chile in the decisive stage of the tournament landed the home squad a solid 3rd place.
2013 South American Sevens Championship Trophy
Brazilian national team captain Fernando Portugal thinks that “in order to grow the sport, we could bet more on sevens. It’s easier to get better results in a shorter term and we will host the Olympic Games soon. It is extremely important to have a competitive squad in that tournament and that brazilian people are aware of rugby sevens so they can support their seleção”.
The muscle of this effort will be guided by Canterbury backs coach John Haggart, as part of the alliance the Brazilian Union sealed with the New Zealander provincial powerhouse some time ago. He knows where his teams stands relative to other, more established rugby nations in the region like Chile, Uruguay and Argentina but he seems confident that the country can make a name for itself on the international scen:.
“Rugby in these countries has been organized effectively for a long time. Whilst Brazil has a long history of Rugby it is only relatively recently that Brazil Rugby has organized itself into National Sports Organisation. Developing strong competitions and identifying players form such a huge population who are currently playing or who want to transfer to rugby from other sports will enhance the growth of the game quickly. Certainly CBRu are ambitious and with the right structures and development program we hope one day to be highly competitive against other South American countries”.
On a lower step in the ladder to contend for olympic gold is Colombia, an emerging nation which has stepped up its game on the field and off it in the managing offices. The game remains firmly amateur but there’s been a collective effort in the last few years to insert rugby into the mind of the average Colombian. Currently, their National Sevens Circuit runs in alliance with a sports beverage giant. Male and female teams from all over the country fight it out in a format similar to the World Series that stops by the country’s most important cities.
President of the Colombian Rugby Federation Andrés Gómez recalls that “we had to work really hard from the beginning to get significant support from a big company like Coca Cola and their brand Gatorade, but through evidence of a hard labor and an attractive league format we’ve been able to earn more attention from the company itself which translates into thousands of dollars in sponsorship which go straight into making the National Sevens Circuit happen and the preparation of our national teams.”
The Tucanes are currently in the upper part of the continent’s second tier of nations along with Paraguay, Venezuela and Peru. They have benefited both from a more solid organization and an increased support for the sport now that it has olympic status and they’ve even recruited former athletics star Fausto Mosquera into their squad in an effort to raise the physical standards of the team.
National sevens coach, frenchman Laurent Palau, has been linked with spreading rugby in Colombia for a number of years and he believes that part of their relative success is due to rugby’s more social aspects such as promoting discipline and respect amongst the youth. “It will take some time for us to catch up with the elite, we’re still lacking the playing experience most of their players have. Then again, not everything is high performance competition. In terms of the amount of players and followers we have, of our educational and social contribution to the communities that practice rugby, we’re up there with the rest.”
Their possibilities of grabbing a spot in the 2016 Olympic Tournament will depend on how they fare against their continental opposition in the coming tournaments such as the South American Championship and the Panamerican Games. They are currently boasting a young, fresh squad which placed 5th this year in Rio, taking home the Bronze Cup after beating all their direct rivals.
We can’t overview South America without checking on the continent’s undisputed top rugby nation. They’ve already gained a birth in this year’s Rugby World Cup Sevens to be held in Moscow and they hope to go one better on their silver medal performance at the 2009 Dubai event. As one of the teams to always look out for at international competitions, the Pumas will be faced with the decision of calling some of their big names in the XVs game like Racing Metro’s Juan Martín Hernández or Bath’s Horacio Agulla.
Andrés Romagnoli, coach of the Pumas 7s, believes that “we should opt for a mix of sevens specialists and players who’ve already had success at test level. Our road to the olympics begins with the early detection of young talent. They’ll go on to play sevens and develop many technical skills, reach top physical shape and grow mentally. These are the aspects that propel rugby players to the top of their career possibilities.”
Sevens has helped cement the careers of many argentinean youngsters such as former Argentina captain Agustín Pichot and Montpellier winger Lucas González Amorosino. Matías Orlando, a young center from Tucuman who has been through all the preparation stages the country has to offer, hopes to emulate their peers’ success and leave a mark in the international sevens stage.
“From where I stand sevens is really important, it’s a very complete form of rugby and just playing it helps you develop your individual game a lot. Right now clubs are paying more attention to sevens competitions and players seem to be enjoying it more, so i hope that continues. I would love to play in the olympics but right now our attention is completely focussed on the 2013 World Cup, they are both equally important for us. I believe that we have the right players to bring home a medal in 2016.”
Argentina’s status as the region’s dominating force was questioned last year at the South American Championship, where their neighbors Uruguay took home the trophy. This time around, Los Pumas set the record straight with an undefeated run to the top step of the podium. Their opposition in the pool stage included one of the continents latest debutantes in the international scene: Ecuador. Los Piqueros (The Blue-Footed Boobies) set flight last year on the same facilities as this year. They placed last on both occasions, but they don’t feel discouraged to challenge top opposition in order to improve.
“It’s the only way we’ll ever move forward. We need to play the best and not be afraid of them. Last year I tried to stay focussed on doing my job right instead of thinking who it was in front me. It was great fun to play at such a high level and I hope we get many more opportunities like this”, said Pablo Pantoja, one of the first ecuadorian-born players to embrace rugby in the country who got the chance to represent his country last year.
Ecuador arrived a hundred years late to the party of rugby nations, but they hope to bridge the gaps quickly by facing tougher opposition all the time. Former national team coach Douglas Rodriguez thinks the country’s touristic appeal could serve a purpose for rugby. “If a club from an established rugby nation wanted to tour the country and face the best opposition possible, the Federation would be glad to arrange a game with the national team. We need all the help we can get in this sense and I can assure you a foreign team would have a blast in Ecuador, both on and off the field.”
Brazil banked on a level performance with their closest contiental rivals Chile and Argentina put their foot down as contenders for olympic glory. Both Pumas and Tupís are eager for 2016 when they face the challenge of keeping the gold in South America. Stay tuned to UR7s.com to find out if they're successful.
By Jaime Duque Cevallos
Source: www.ur7s.com