South American Games – Day One Results

The 2026 South American Games rugby sevens tournament exploded into action on Friday, September 18, at the Hipódromo de Rosario in Argentina, showcasing the continent’s top regional talent.

Serving as a crucial stepping stone for continental dominance, Day One featured an intense, fast-paced round-robin schedule across both the men’s and women’s divisions. As heavy favorites asserted their dominance with explosive offensive displays and clinical shutouts, the opening day set a high-stakes tone for the remainder of the weekend, leaving several nations scrambling to keep their medal and qualification dreams alive.

On Day One of the men’s rugby sevens competition, the host nation, Argentina, was completely untouchable routing Paraguay 50–0 before delivering an absolute masterclass in an 80–0 destruction of Peru. Chile also finished the opening day with a perfect record, but had to work much harder for it; they survived a 24–17 scare against Brazil, comfortably handled Peru 34–12, and then held off a fierce challenge from Paraguay to win 21–17.

The battle for the remaining playoff positions remains incredibly tight. Colombia enjoyed a strong start to their campaign, cruising past Peru 22–5 and securing a decisive 26–5 victory over Brazil. Uruguay also put themselves in a solid position by winning both of their scheduled matches, defeating Paraguay 15–5 and thrashing a struggling Brazilian side 42–7. In stark contrast, Brazil, Peru, and Paraguay all finished the first day of action without a win, leaving them with an uphill battle to keep their medal hopes alive.

The tournament shifts into high gear on Day Two (Saturday, September 19) with the final round-robin matches setting up the knockout stages. The afternoon slate features a highly anticipated matchup at 17:26 local time when Uruguay takes on Colombia in a battle of undefeated teams looking to secure a top seed. The spotlight will then turn to the evening session at 20:08 local time, where Argentina clashes with Chile in a heavyweight showdown that promises to be the premier fixture of the group stage.

On Day One of the women’s rugby sevens tournament at the 2026 South American Games, Argentina and Colombia emerged as the dominant forces, both securing dominant back-to-back victories at the Hipódromo de Rosario. The Argentine women’s national team, Las Yaguaretés, put on an absolute defensive clinic by keeping both of their opponents scoreless, thrashing Peru 46–0 before blanking Chile 40–0. Colombia mirrored this standard of excellence, kicking off their tournament with a 19–0 shutout over Chile and following it up with a decisive 24–7 victory against Paraguay.

The rest of the field saw highly competitive exchanges as teams battled for position behind the frontrunners. Paraguay managed a crucial 19–12 opening win over Uruguay, though they were later stifled by Colombia’s elite offense. Meanwhile, Uruguay bounced back from their initial defeat to claim a hard-fought 19–12 victory over Peru, leaving both Chile and Peru desperate for answers after finishing Day One without a single victory. This tournament carries immense stakes for the women’s division, as they compete intensely not just for the South American Games gold medal, but also for a coveted direct qualification spot to the Lima 2027 Pan American Games.

The action intensifies on Day Two (Saturday, September 19) as teams complete the round-robin stage to determine seeding. The schedule features highly anticipated showdowns, beginning with Argentina squaring off against Paraguay at 15:50 local time. Later in the afternoon, a critical clash takes place at 18:32 local time when Argentina faces Colombia in a blockbuster match that will likely decide control at the top of the leaderboard.