Olímpia Lions defeat Cobras in tight contest

The Olímpia Lions and Os Cobras had a hard-fought contest today in Montevideo. The Olímpia Lions got the job done, winning 19-15. The result sees the Paraguayans sealing their place in the Semi Finals of the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR). Os Cobras remain in fifth spot ahead of Los Cafeteros Pro with two rounds remaining in the regular season.

The Olímpia Lions came out flying. In just the second minute of play they claimed their first, and only try. In a simple move the play went from the right to the mid-field. Máximo Ledesma linked with Rodrigo Martínez. The Argentine loose head ran straight into a gap and went over from outside the opposition’s 22.

Máximo Ledesma continued his strong form to land the conversion. He then added three further points to give Olímpia a 10-0 advantage after 14 minutes. When further opportunities presented themselves, the Olímpia Lions turned down kickable points. The early intensity fell as the Paraguayans were in a pedestrian mode throughout the second quarter.

Os Cobras were playing the territory percentages. It eventually worked in their favor. The lackluster Olímpia defense was broken; Felipe Cunha spotted a gap and crossed for the try. Moisés Duque converted to end the first half scoring at 10-7 to the Paraguayans.

Duque’s second shot at goal was off target. It meant that Os Cobras were 13-12 down in the 47th minute. The score was a captain’s effort. Felipe Sancery broke the tackle of Juan González to score. It completed an excellent opening to the second half from the Brazilian side.

The Olímpia Lions responded with their best passage of play since the opening minutes. The Paraguayans ran upfield and used phases. They got to within five meters of the try line and were awarded a penalty. Ledesma’s 50th minute penalty was swiftly responded to by Duque three minutes later.

Points were not coming easy for either team; it was a very tight contest. Handling errors were abundant as forwards crashed against one-another in contact. With twelve minutes remaining Ledesma restored a four point advantage. His 68th minute penalty gave the team the breathing space to see out their victory.

Os Cobras outside the Olímpia Lions by two tries to one. They did not win, however, with the penalty count favoring the Paraguayans. Os Cobras conceded 14 penalties, twice the number than the 7 conceded by the Olímpia Lions.

The teams will now regather and prepare for their next matches. The round nine fixtures will see Os Cobras taking on Los Cafeteros Pro and the Olímpia Lions will face the unbeaten Los Jaguares XV. Round nine will take place on Monday, April 26.

SCORING

OLÍMPIA LIONS 19
Try: Martínez
Conversion: Ledesma
Penalty: Ledesma 4

COBRAS 15
Try: Cunha, F Sancery
Conversion: Duque
Penalty: Duque

TEAMS

OLÍMPIA LIONS
1 Rodrigo Martínez, 2 Axel Zapata, 3 Martín Sitjar, 4 Carlos Repetto, 5 Mariano Garcete, 6 Jerónimo Gomez Vara, 7 Lucas Santa Cruz, 8 Ignacio Gaindini, 9 Joaquín Pellandini (capt.), 10 Máximo Ledesma, 11 Juan González, 12 Sebastián Urbieta, 13 Diego Argaña, 14 Leopoldo Herrera, 15 Martín Bogado

Replacements: 16 Mariano Muntaner, 17 Nicolás Revol, 18 Luis Enrique Quinteros, 19 Mauro Rebussone, 20 Matías Vara Gómez, 21 Ignacio Inchauspe, 22 Rodrigo Gómez Vara, 23 Renato Cardona

COBRAS
1 Leonel Moreno, 2 Yan Rosetti, 3 Matheus Rocha, 4 Manuel Bernstein, 5 Gabriel Paganini, 6 Cléber Días, 7 Matheus Claúdio, 8 André Arruda, 9 Felipe Cunha, 10 Joshua Reeves, 11 Daniel Lima, 12 Moisés Duque, 13 Felipe Sancery (capt.), 14 Robert Tenorio, 15 Daniel Sancery

Replacements: 16 Santiago Grippo, 17 Lucas Abud, 18 Joel Ramírez, 19 Adrio de Melo, 20 Arthur Bergo, 21 Laurent Bourda-Couhet, 22 Marcos de Sanctis, 23 Gabriel Quirino

Venue: Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo
Referee: Francisco González (Argentina)