2026 Super Rugby Americas – Round Four summary: Peñarol beat Cobras as Pampas hit top spot

By Joe Santamaria

Peñarol backed up their first win of the season with a deserved 38-20 home victory over Cobras in Round Four of the 2026 Super Rugby Americas.

Experienced No.8 Manuel Diana put in one of the performances of the season so far, with his hat-trick crucial as the Uruguayans look to defend their title.

It was Diana who broke the deadlock after 20 minutes when he picked from the back of a dominant scrum and forced his way over the line.

Cobras fly-half Julián Leszczynski kept his side within touching distance with a penalty, but Peñarol were soon on the attack again.

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Diana steals the show

Some slick handling put captain Felipe Aliaga through a hole and the Cobras defence never recovered, leaving an easy run-in for Diana to grab his second try.

Cobras did well to drag themselves back into the game and another Leszczynski penalty was just reward for their endeavours, but it was clear they were overpowered up front.

Peñarol enjoyed total dominance at both scrum and line-out, and it was only a matter of time before Cobras conceded again.

A dominant Peñarol maul was dragged down short of the line, leading the referee to award a penalty try and give the hosts a commanding 21-6 lead at halftime.

Cobras started the second half well but were wasteful in attack and Peñarol managed to weather the storm.

The hosts’ maul continued to provide a platform and yielded the bonus point try, finished off by hooker Sebastián Pérez.

Determined to demonstrate their own attacking potential, the Cobras pack responded in kind and finally crossed the line through Santiago Bonavento.

Comeback crushed

Any suggestion that Bonavento’s try might spark a comeback was crushed by Diana, who sealed his hat-trick in style, overpowering three defenders on his way to the line.

Cobras fans were eager to see new signing Dion Khumalo in action and the Zimbabwe international did not disappoint off the bench.

The centre powered through several tackles and nearly grabbed a memorable debut score, only to be hauled down just short of the line.

His new teammate, Gabriel Oliveira, was on hand to finish off the move before Peñarol replacement Juan Francisco Bessio sealed the win with yet another try from the back of a rolling maul.

After a worrying start, Peñarol’s youthful outfit looks to have settled and is clearly still capable, even if they are yet to hit the heights of last season’s title-winning campaign.

Cobras weren’t able to make it two wins in a row, but there are promising signs for the team, not least in the form of their new centre, Khumalo.

Pampas hand Tarucas their first defeat

The pick of the games was to be found in Tucumán, where Tarucas fell to their first defeat of the season against an impressive Pampas side.

The visitors already handed Capibaras their first loss of the year in Round Three and looked every inch like title contenders as they secured a 43-22 victory.

Tarucas fans were treated to the perfect start, as a dropped ball left the Pampas defence out of shape, allowing young winger Mateo Pasquini a clear run to the line for the game’s first try.

Pampas fly-half Bautista Farisé continued his strong start to the season and soon levelled things up for the visitors.

Farisé was involved three times in a flowing attack and was on hand to throw a sumptuous dummy before finishing off the move under the posts.

Pampas were looking to play at pace and were constantly asking questions of the Tarucas defence, which was soon found wanting again.

An excellent break from energetic scrum-half Lucas Marguery allowed Santiago Cordero to race into the corner virtually unopposed to give the visitors the lead after 21 minutes.

A well-struck Ignacio Cerruti penalty did little to sway the game’s momentum, and Pampas were soon on the attack yet again.

Pampas smelled blood

Head coach Juan Manuel Leguizamón will have been delighted to see his forwards and backs combining with such fluency.

After several gruelling defensive phases, Tarucas simply ran out of numbers, allowing Cordero to grab his third try in two games.

Pampas smelled blood and sealed their bonus point before halftime through centre Agustín Fraga.

A short pass from Farisé allowed Fraga to find a soft shoulder, but he still had plenty to do if he was to reach the line.

One of several former 7s stars in Pampas’ squad this year, Fraga showed an impressive turn of speed and some neat footwork to score, giving his side a deserved 26-10 halftime lead.

A Tarucas fightback was inevitable, and so it proved, with the team relying on their power up front for opportunities.

Backrower Facundo Cardozo let out a roar of emotion after scoring from a maul, which looked as though it might inspire a comeback for the hosts.

Tarucas left licking their wounds

The chances of a famous comeback looked even better when Pasquini grabbed his second of the day after some quick hands from No.8 Thiago Sbrocco and captain Matías Orlando.

Despite their best efforts, Tarucas were beginning to tire and gaps began to open in their defensive line.

Pampas replacement Lucas Moresco could barely believe his eyes as he charged through a hole on his way to score the try that ended any chance of a win for the hosts.

Winger Santiago Pernas is a player looking to add to his solitary Argentina cap this year and was desperate to get in on the try-scoring action.

He got his wish in the match’s closing moments as he charged onto a kick in behind and managed to dot down under pressure.

Tarucas will lick their wounds, but will know they still have a great chance of competing come the business end of the season.

Off the pitch, they were roared on by a Super Rugby Americas record 12,554 fans, in a brilliant sign of progress for both the team and the league.

For Pampas, this was an even more impressive win than last week’s triumph over Capibaras and it takes them to the top of the table, a position the team feels belongs to them.

The real test for the Buenos Aires franchise will come in the playoffs, where they have stuttered before, but, on the basis of this, they will take some stopping in 2026.

Yacare agonisingly miss out

Yacare were the only team still searching for a win heading into Round Four and came agonisingly close against Capibaras, eventually falling to a 13-12 defeat in front of their home fans.

Few players have been as important to their team’s success in recent times as Yacare’s halfbacks and both were superb again.

Scrum-half Juan Cruz Strada kicked things off after just four minutes with a sniping run that somehow ended with him scoring under the posts.

Capibaras will rightly wonder where the covering defender was, but Strada still deserves great credit for having the pace to break the line to begin with.

Things went from bad to worse for Capibaras as they threw a loose pass that was snapped up by Yacare fly-half Joaquín Lamas.

The rangey Argentine had to put on the afterburners but managed to score out wide, although he couldn’t add the conversion from a tight angle.

Both teams missed chances to score from the boot, as it became clear that the game would come down to tight margins.

Nail-biting affair

Capibaras hooker Manuel Cuneo managed to get his side on the board before halftime, but the conversion went wide, and Yacare still held a seven-point lead at the break.

The second half was a nail-biting affair, with both sides missing further shots at goal.

With 35 minutes of the half played, neither side had been able to trouble the scoreline, and it was looking as though Yacare might hold on.

All that changed when replacement Ignacio Dogliani surged through a gap in Yacare’s defence and put away winger Lautaro Cipriani to score.

The conversion went wide, though, and Yacare still led as the game went into the final minutes.

With the Capibaras on the attack, Yacare eventually conceded a penalty, which Dogliani stepped up to take.

Capibaras disappointed

From a goal-kicking point of view, the game was far from a vintage one, but Dogliani slotted the one that mattered most, to the despair of the home fans.

Yacare may still be winless through four rounds, but the last three defeats have come by a combined margin of just five points.

Their ability to challenge teams is not in question, but head coach Ramiro Peman will need to work out how to convert these performances into wins.

Capibaras will be disappointed at their performance, but they were able to snatch a win, having trailed for almost 70 minutes.

Having won the title in 2024 with Dogos, head coach Nicolás Galatro will know how important it is for teams to learn how to win even when they have underperformed.

Selknam hammered by Dogos

If Selknam’s opening three games were underwhelming, there were at least some reasonable excuses, given they had missed a large cohort of players in Round Three due to Chile‘s match against an Italy XV.

It is hard to find either excuses or positives in their Round Four mauling at the hands of Dogos, with the Argentine side running out 68-0 winners in Córdoba.

The rout began with just six minutes played, when hooker Juan Greissing Revol scored after a rolling maul, with second row Valentín Gozálvez adding a second soon after.

Having seen two forwards score, the backs felt it was their turn to get involved, as fullback Mateo Soler benefitted from an audacious offload from Faustino Sánchez Valarolo to score.

Scrum-half Nicolás Viola’s perfect grubber in behind was collected by Facundo Pueyrredón, who wrapped up the bonus point with 32 minutes on the clock.

Viola was involved again as he set up Luciano Avaca to score Dogos’ fifth try before the break.

Perhaps the most worrying thing for Selknam was the lack of fightback in the second half, where Dogos added five further tries.

It is true that they were up against a Dogos side seething after back-to-back defeats, with Valarolo having his best game of the season, but that does not account for a defeat of this magnitude.

Repeat of last year’s final

It is hard to believe that the last game between these two sides ended with a 33-31 victory for Selknam that enabled them to snatch a playoff spot last year.

Dogos fans will have enjoyed the performance, which included the return of inspirational leader Valentín Cabral, who hadn’t played since last year’s semi-final win over Pampas.

There will be tougher tests to come for the Córdoba-based franchise, but the rest of the competition cannot claim to be ignorant of the side’s firepower anymore, with Selknam the unlucky recipients of a brutally effective display.

Round Five sees Dogos at home again against Peñarol in a repeat of last year’s final, before Selknam look to get things back on track against Capibaras.

Yacare look to win for the first time this season when they welcome Tarucas to Asunción before Cobras close out the round at home to in-form Pampas.

READ MORE: 2026 Super Rugby Americas – Round Three summary: Tarucas stay perfect and Pampas bounce back