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As a first test, it exceeded all expectations. The Rugby Stadium, which was built for Lima 2019 at the Andrés Avelino Cáceres Sports Center in Villa María del Triunfo, opened its doors to host the Women’s Pre-Olympic Rugby Tournament. Almost 3500 spectators attended the event (990 and 2466 on the first and second day, respectively). Even tough rugby is not a popular sport in Peru, Peruvians proved us all why they are the best fanbase by cheering loud on one of the sports they will enjoy during the Pan American and Parapan American Games.
The spectators on the grandstands stood up every time the oval ball reached the scoring area of the rugby synthetic grass fields. The Peruvian team, known as “Las Tumis”, obtained three victories and fought for the bronze medal against Argentina, in a tight match that impressed fans from beginning to end.
Southern Lima fans fell for the strength of Michelle Flores, the agility of Samantha Chuquivala and the strategic skills of Rosemary Quesada. The effort of this team made us all proud, despite losing to Argentina. “We’ve never played before so many people, and it felt great. Their support was amazing, and it is the most valuable memory we have from the tournament,” said Melissa Vargas.
The Peruvian women’s rugby team won a bunch of fans, who will certainly be rooting for them at the Pan American Games. “Peru has grown so much. Not only on the field, but also on the grandstands, where fans rooted for their team until the end. We felt pressured at times,” said the Argentine captain Sofía González.
SEE YOU IN LIMA 2019
Rugby competitions 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. 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 with the same rules: two halves of seven minutes, with a two-minute rest period. If scores are tied in qualification rounds, an extra time of 5-minute periods will be played with a sudden-death format.
Among the potential opponents of the Peruvian women’s team (known as “Las Tumis”) are Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Canada, United States, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago. The group draw will be announced in the upcoming days.
