Brazil on the rampage
The Yaras of Brazil continued their preparations for their first-ever appearance at a World Cup by taking on Colombia in São Paulo.
Result: Brazil 58 Colombia 7, São Paulo
How times change! Not long ago Brazil stood 23rd in world rankings. As the game kicked off in the second city, they had dropped to 31st. Their opponents, Las Tucanes, stand 29th. They had failed at the last stage to qualify for the New Zealand RWC of 2021 (Scotland won 59-3).
In this warm-up match between the only two South American nations to reach that far, the Yaras overwhelmed their visitors.
The Squad:
1 Franciele Barros, 2 Julia Leni, 3 Tais Prioste, 4 Eshyllen Coimbra (captain), 5 Dayana Dakar, 6 Larissa Carvalho, 7 Camilla Isis Carvalho, 8 Marcelle Souza, 9 Luiza Campos, 10 Raquel Hochhann, 11 Isadora Lopes, 12 Edna Santini, 13 Marina Fioravanti, 14 Giovanna Barth, 15 Fernanda Tenorio
16 Isabela Gomes Saccomanno, 17 Samara Vergama, 18 Pamela Santos, 19 Nicole Amaral, 20 Leiticia Medeiros, 21 Larissa Henwood, 22 Aline Mayumi 23 Bianca Silva
Their scorers: tries: Julia Leni, Eshy Coimbra, Camilla Isis (2), Isadora Lopes (2), Giovanna Barth (2), Fernanda Tenorio, Isabela Gomes (2). Conversions by Raquel Kochhann (3) Fernanda Tenorio
The other side of the coin
After this loss suffered by Colombia, I recall feeling concerned about the progress an RWC rank outsider might make. They had enjoyed wonderful experiences, travelling as far as Kenya to take on new opposition.
In 2023 they played Brazil twice and qualified for WXV3. They lost all their games there. Now, two years later, we must wonder what the effect is of a failure like that, at both personal and national level. The one-sided result in São Paulo doesn’t offer grounds for optimism.
Along with Mexico (25th) the two nations are by a distance the strongest in Latin America. We still await an advance from other teams such as Argentina (the men already major figures on the world stage) and Chile.
BraziI’s position in somewhat different from Colombia’s. For a start, it is a far larger country. Second, the national sevens team has already made its mark at world level. They caused a massive shock by beating the Wallaroos 15-14 in Vancouver this year. That sort of CV provides them with much greater confidence than the Tucanes could hope for. Today’s outcome is proof; some of the 15’s team appeared in both those games.
Now they need to transfer these triumphs beyond the Americas. Their opponents in England will be France, South Africa and Italy; no easy options there. But it’s encouraging to see all manner of initiatives taking place over the next few days in support of the Yaras’ advance to the RWC.
