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Brazil’s first professional rugby team is Corinthians. The São Paulo-based side is playing under the name of one of the country’s top soccer clubs past and present. The association is common in Brazilian sport, although it is also something which fiercely divides supporters.
Head Coach: Corinthians are coached by former Brazilian test player, Fernando Portugal. He was a big name in the past and had a stint as a professional player in Italy. He is an important member of Brazil’s rugby community, but he has a notable lack of coaching experience. Selknam‘s Head Coach played professional rugby in England and France and and coached at a RWC; Peñarol‘s Head Coach played in England, played at a Rugby World Cup and was an assistant at a RWC; Los Ceibos‘ Head Coach took on the role after having been in charge of the Argentina XV and Jaguares XV and had a long playing career in England and France; and Olímpia Lions‘ Head Coach was also a Puma and previously coached Los Jaguares and was an assistant at a RWC.
CAPTAIN: Corinthians are led by center Felipe Sancery. He has been a mainstay in the Brazilian set-up since his arrival from France. The Brazilian-born player was raised in France, but has made Brazil his home and is now fluent in Portuguese. He is surrounded by players that he knows very well including others to have captained Os Tupis.
STAR PLAYER: Readers of ARN will be all-too familiar that Brazil’s scrum impressed against the Maori All Blacks. Playing loose head prop in the match was Lucas Abud. In the Americas Rugby Championship (ARC) he has cemented himself as a formidable scrummager. He enters the SLAR as a player to be taken very seriously, and is arguably Brazil’s finest player.
SMART SIGNING: For both Josh Reeves and Arthur Bergo, SLAR is not their first professional rugby competition. Both formerly played Major League Rugby and are the most notable inclusions on the roster for this reason. Reeves has impressed as Brazil’s play-maker since meeting eligibility via residency, while Bergo is one of Brazil’s best home-based products ever. He fit in well in MLR and has the means to push on further in SLAR. His ball-carrying and defense are strong aspects of his game.
ONE TO WATCH: The growth of Brazilian rugby in recent years has seen a faster turnover of player than historically. While many players held down positions for lengthily times, this has since changed. One recent addition to the team who will be hard to remove is André Arruda. The N8 had an outstanding 2019 for Brazil.
OUTLOOK: This team is Brazil’s version of what Los Jaguares are to Argentina. It is the top players based at home all playing together in a professional competition. The difference is that Los Jaguares are without many players who play abroad. In contrast Brazil is realistically without Wilton Rebolo (Austin Gilgronis) and potentially one other. As such, Corinthians is Brazil’s test team. There are no Argentine, or other, foreign players on the roster. This is more to do with financial restrictions than anything else. All told, Corinthians have not had a great professional beginning and this may cost them in SLAR.
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