Source: Paulo Mumia

Brazil win gold at Olympic Games test event

  • +1
  • Brazil wins 12th consecutive South American title in Rio
  • Brazil defeat Argentina 27-5 in high-quality final after compelling weekend of rugby sevens
  • Deodoro Olympic venue successfully inaugurated as preparations continue
  • Olympic Games tickets on sale via www.Rio2016.com

Brazil have won the Aquece Rio International Women’s Rugby Sevens tournament, defeating Argentina 27-5 in a pulsating final to secure a 12th consecutive Sudamerica Rugby title.

After topping Pool A on day one, the home team defeated Chile 41-0 in the quarter-final and Colombia 31-0 in the semi-final before teeing-up a mouth-watering final against a much-improved Argentina side.

Argentina had claimed their final place courtesy of a 38-0 quarter-final win over Peru and a 22-5 semi-final victory over Venezuela.

In the 32c heat of mid-summer, the final was a tense affair, but spurred on by a vocal home support, Brazil pulled clear courtesy of a hat-trick by speedster Edna Santini, adding to her braces in the semi and quarter finals.

Victorious Brazil captain Paula Ishibashi said: “This is a proud moment for Brazil rugby. Winning a 12thSouth American title is a fantastic achievement, but doing it on home soil in the Olympic Games test event is very special.

“We can now look forward to continuing our preparations for the Olympic Games on the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series. We are all excited about the Games and I am sure that rugby sevens will be popular with people in Rio.”

On a weekend of operational testing and readiness, South America’s top women’s players were the stars, delivering a feast of breath-taking and compelling action that demonstrated the massive advances that women’s rugby sevens has made across South America.

While Brazil and Colombia have booked their place at Rio 2016, Argentina and Venezuela can still qualify for the Olympics by winning the 16-team repechage event in Dublin in June.

In the coming months the venue will play host to the modern pentathlon test event before the construction starts on the 15,000 capacity temporary stadium that will provide the stage for the world’s top sevens players to showcase their talents to a global audience.

World Rugby declared the test event a valuable exercise in familiarisation with Olympic Games structures and event delivery.

World Rugby Head of Competitions and Performance Mark Egan said: “This event has delivered invaluable testing opportunity for the Rio 2016 Organising Committee and World Rugby.

“We can now collectively fine-tune ahead of Games, where we anticipate fantastic men’s and women’s rugby sevens events.”

Day 2 results
Quarter-finals

Brazil 41, Colombia 0
Venezuela 17, Paraguay 0
Colombia 36, Uruguay 5
Argentina 38, Peru 0

Positional play-offs
Chile 12, Uruguay 7
Paraguay 19, Peru 12

Semi-finals
Brazil 31, Colombia 0
Argentina 22, Venezuela 5

7th place play-off
Uruguay 5, Peru 15

5th place play-off
Chile 0, Paraguay 22

Bronze final
Colombia 14, Venezuela 5

Gold final
Brazil 27, Argentina 5

Report courtesy of World Rugby