Os Cobras put an end to two years of losses by beating Yacare. Sunday’s victory in São Paulo sees Os Cobras moving past the same team on the Super Rugby Americas (SRA) table. The Brazilian side are now tied with reigning champions, Peñarol for 6th place in SRA 2026.
The match went down to the wire. It was only decided with time up. Indeed, Yacare scored a try with the match clock having entered the red. It meant fullback Valentino Quattrochi had the opportunity to convert there try to seal a 21-21 draw. His kick was wide which saw Os Cobras jumping for joy in having successfully won the match.
Yacare has been a tough opponent for Os Cobras. The Brazilians were beaten six consecutive times over the course of the past three SRA seasons. The previous time that the Brazilian side defeated the Paraguayans was in May 2022 when the team was the Olímpia Lions.
In noting the importance of winning the contest, Brasil Rugby noted that Yacare fielded eleven Argentines in their starting XV. The sizable number is a reflection of the needs of Paraguayan rugby in order to be competitive. However, the performance in São Paulo was underwhelming.
Rain played a part in the rugby that was played, but this was by no means a performance in which Yacare will look back on the match video happily. Os Cobras were the better team for the most part and this included an early try from Argentine hooker, Santiago Bonavento.
Yacare hit-back to take the front and did so with the ill-disciplined Cobras down to 13-men. Two separate yellow cards meant space would open up and, certainly, Juan Cruz Strada made no mistake in touching down a simple score.
The game’s third try was also scored by Yacare. It was a scrum-enforced try with referee Mauro Rossi awarding Yacare with a penalty try. Os Cobras escaped a yellow card.
From there, Yacare were guilty of complacency and Os Cobras looked better. It worked out well for the home side as fly half João do Amaral landed two penalties for a 14-13 scoreline in, favor of Yacare, at the completion of the first-half. Of note is that Joaquín Lamas’ goal-kicking was less accurate.
The second-half scoring was limited as rain affected ball-handling. It was not until nine minutes from full-time until either team managed to score points. Argenitne Julián Leszczynski landed a penalty for Os Cobras before Gabriel Oliveira scored from close range.
Oliveira’s try seemingly had sealed the victory. However, with the conversion off target there was a thin-window for Yacare to stage a comeback. With time up, Argentine Matías Muniagurria scored for the Paraguayan side. It meant it was 21-19 to Os Cobras with time up.
Os Cobras will take confidence with them to Uruguay for Friday’s match against Peñarol. Yacare will be looking for their first win of SRA 2026 when they face Los Capibaras at the Estadio Héroes de Curupayty next Saturday.
 SCORING |
COBRAS (21)
TRY – S Bonaveto, H Lúcio
CON – J do Amaral (1); J Leszczynski (1)
PEN – J do Amaral (2); J Leszczynski (1)
YACARE (19)
TRY – JC Strada; Penalty Try; M Muniagurria
CON – J Lamas (1); No Kick (1)
| TEAMS |
COBRAS
1 João Lucas Marino, 2 Santiago Bonavento, 3 Facundo Moreno, 4 Cleber Dias, 5 Hélder Lúcio, 6 Adio de Melo, 7 Matheus Cláudio, 8 André Arruda, 9 Zinedine Booysen, 10 João do Amaral, 11 Robson Morais, 12 Robert Tenório, 13 Lorenzo Massari Temer, 14 Sérgio Luna, 15 Rosko Specman
Replacements: 16 Endy Willian Pinheiro , 17 Brendon Alves , 18 Lautaro Facundo , 19. Gabriel “Fúria” Oliveira , 20 Mogomotsi Mokunyane , 21 Pedro Soares , 22 Ashwin Cox , 23 Julián Leszczynski
YACARE
1 Camilo Blasco, 2 Valentino Macciali, 3 Gonzalo del Pazo, 4 Mateo Gasparotti, 5 Joaquín Domínguez, 6 Manuel Todaro, 7 Juan Mernes, 8 Matías Muniagurria, 9 Juan Cruz Strada, 10 Joaquín Lamas, 11 Juan González, 12 Sebastian Urbieta, 13 Ramiro Amarilla (capt.), 14 Francisco Calello, 15 Valentino Quattrochi
Replacements: 16 Jordi Chávez, 17 Nicolás Toth, 18 Rodolfo Rivadeneira, 19 Lautaro González, 20 Ariel Núñez, 21 Gonzalo Bareiro, 21 Francisco Gaspes, 23 Arturo López
| MATCH HIGHLIGHTS |
| MATCH OFFICIALS |
VS
Referee: Mauro Rossi (Argentina)
Assistant Referees: Juan Maio (Argentina); Victor Hugo Barboza (Brazil)