PERU RANKED FOURTH AT WOMEN’S PRE-OLYMPIC RUGBY TOURNAMENT

Peru was almost reached the podium at the Rugby Pre-Olympic Tournament held in Villa María del Triunfo, but it lost to Argentina 22-12 in a tough match for the third place. More than 2500 people celebrated “Tumis” efforts at the Andrés Avelino Cáceres Sports Center, where they fought until the end for the bronze medal in the Lima 2019 test event.

After three consecutive victories on the first day, the Peruvian team lost to Brazil 40-12 in the final match of group A. Peru also lost to Colombia 19-5 in semifinals, although they started winning with a try (5 points) by Michelle Flores. The “Tucanes” stamina and physical game turned the tides to their favor.

“We fought really hard to reach the podium. Having reached this stage is already an achievement for the team. We're sorry we couldn’t bring happiness to our fans that supported us the whole time. Anyway, it was a great test for the Pan American Games,” said Beatriz Orcotoma.

Brazil confirmed its reign at the Pre-Olympic Tournament, defeating Colombia 28-15 in the final. The Brazilian women's team, known as the “Yaras” confirmed its place for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Colombia and Argentina still have the chance to qualify in the continental repechage. “It's an amazing feeling to have qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Our game still has lots to show,” stated Bianca, the top try scorer.

FINAL POSITIONS

Colombia also secured its place for Lima 2019 after reaching the second place. Brazil, current champion, had already secured its qualification. “Our goal was to make it to the Pan American Games and we’re happy because we are coming back to Lima to make history,” said the Colombian team captain, Camila Lopera.

Guatemala ranked ninth after defeating Costa Rica 19-17 in the final qualification of the Pre-Olympic Tournament. Meanwhile, Uruguay reached the seventh place, defeating Venezuela 24-0. Finally, Paraguay took the fifth place by beating Chile 27-7.

RUGBY AT LIMA 2019 

The Rugby tournament at the Pan American Games will be held on July 26, 27 and 28. Two groups of four teams each will participate in men’s and women’s rugby. Then, they will compete in quarterfinals and the four best teams will advance to semifinals. On the last day, the best two teams will compete for the gold medal. 

Matches are played in two halves of seven minutes, with a two-minute rest period. If scores are tied at the end of the match, 5-minutes periods extra times will be played with a sudden-death format.

Among the potential opponents of the Peruvian women’s team are Brazil, Argentina, Canada, United States, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago. Colombia joined in after the Pre-Olympic Tournament that ended this afternoon in Lima.