2026 Super Rugby Americas – Round 14 summary: Pampas seal home semi-final as play-off line-up confirmed

By Joe Santamaria

In Round 14 of the 2026 Super Rugby Americas season, Pampas ensured they will play their semi-final in Buenos Aires with a professional 47-14 away victory over Peñarol.

The Uruguayan hosts were already set to miss out on the playoffs for the first time in their history, and this defeat brings a chastening season to a close for the defending champions.

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Pampas secure home semi-final in style

Pampas struck first with nine minutes played when Santiago Pernas leapt upon a loose pass and showed great strength to hold off a defender on his way to the line.

Having opened the scoring, it didn’t take them long to add to their lead, with fly-half Estanislao Renthel scything through the defence just minutes later, before putting Nahuel Clausen in for an easy score.

Things went from bad to worse for Peñarol, who could not establish a foothold in the game.

The hosts were attacking out wide and looked to have an overlap, only for Pampas fullback Tobías Wade to intercept the crucial pass and race away for his team’s third try.

Tighthead prop Marcos Camerlinckx powered over for Pampas to seal the bonus point with less than 30 minutes on the clock.

Peñarol fought hard and deserved to get something out of a wretched first half and finally managed it through winger Juan Manuel Alonso.

With just five minutes to play before the break, scrum-half Ícaro Amarillo spotted an opportunity up the short-side and Alonso was on hand to finish.

It proved to be a temporary respite, however, as Pampas scored their fifth of the half through Jerónimo Ulloa, who finished out wide after some slick handling from the Pampas backline.

Class apart

After a breathless opening 40 minutes, the second half was comparatively calm, with neither side able to trouble the scoreboard until the hour mark had passed.

Pampas No. 8 Lucas Moresco crashed over the line after a powerful rolling maul to extend his team’s lead.

Barely a minute went by before Pampas struck again through Wade, who crossed for his second try of the game after an excellent long pass from Pernas.

The hosts did manage the last laugh when they scored their second try, with Alonso bagging his brace.

The winger collected the ball out wide with plenty to do but shrugged off the would-be-tackler and showed quick feet to evade the last defender.

Perennial contenders Pampas showed their class and managed to go through the gears in attack, albeit against a Peñarol team that has fallen below their usual level this season.

The Buenos Aires side now look forward to a home semifinal, knowing that they are potentially just two weeks away from the maiden title that has eluded them for so long.

The majority of the squad will remember falling short in last year’s semifinal and will be desperate to put things right.

Peñarol remain the tournament’s most successful side, with three titles to their name, and would ordinarily be preparing for the playoffs.

This season has been the most difficult in their history and, while they have shown quality in glimpses, they have never looked likely to defend their title.

One positive has been the number of young players they have been able to field this season, which their fans will hope to see pay dividends in 2027.

Dogos cruise past Yacare

With first place already secured, Dogos rested some of their stars but still ran out comfortable winners over Yacare.

The visiting Paraguayans had their moments, but were ultimately overpowered in the 48-20 defeat.

Dogos scored early through Alejandro Ponce before Yacare fly-half Valentino Quattrochi cut the deficit with a penalty.

The visitors then took the lead when live-wire winger Juan González seized on a loose ball and showed great pace to reach the line under pressure.

The hosts appeared disjointed on account of the personnel changes, but eventually found their groove and took advantage.

Agustín De Vertiz reclaimed the lead with a try out wide after a looping pass from Facundo Rodríguez.

Ponce and Constantino Keller added further scores before the break.

Too strong

If the first half offered Yacare some hope of an upset, Dogos shattered it with a clinical second half display.

The hosts’ rolling maul caused Yacare constant issues and their backline began to click.

Dogos were good value for their eight tries, while Yacare’s toils in the second half could only amount to a late consolation from Juan Mernes, who forced his way over after a set-play from a lineout.

Dogos were always expected to win and will head into the playoffs having rested several frontline players.

The rustiness displayed in the opening minutes is unlikely to be a factor in that semifinal, given the expected changes to the lineup.

The Córdoba-based franchise are in pole position to add to their 2024 title in the coming weeks.

Yacare’s season was ultimately a disappointing one, albeit they showed real threat in moments across the fourteen rounds.

Having contested for a playoff spot until the final round in 2025, they were never in the race this year and, should they return in 2027, will be looking to push much deeper into the competition.

Tarucas book historic play-off place

Tarucas put in one of their best performances of the season to seal the final play-off position with a commanding 42-15 win over Capibaras.

The visitors’ chances of finishing in a home-semifinal spot were already gone before kickoff, and one can’t help but think Tarucas’ extra motivation played a part in the result.

The hosts took the lead with 13 minutes played when Facundo Cardozo scored from the back of a rolling maul.

Neither side was able to trouble the scoreboard further until a frantic final ten minutes of the half.

An Ignacio Dogliani penalty reduced the deficit before Tarucas pulled away with two late tries that swung momentum in their direction.

Fly-half Stefano Ferro surged onto a perfectly timed pass from Matías Orlando to score, before Tomás Elizalde added the team’s third try with an opportunistic finish after a Capibaras attack broke down.

An 18-point deficit was always likely to prove too much for Capibaras, but a comeback was not beyond the realms of possibility until the hour mark, when Tarucas secured the bonus point.

A well-worked lineout move allowed Thiago Sbrocco to offload to Tomás Dande who crashed over the line.

Destiny fulfilled

With the result secured, Tarucas gave their fans a little extra to celebrate with further tries from Rodrigo Navarro and Calderoni Zenteno.

Capibaras managed a late brace of tries, including a smart finish from Lautaro Cipriani, but the game had long since slipped away from the visitors.

Tarucas knew that their destiny was in their hands and sealed their first ever playoff appearance in style.

After a major mid-season blip, head coach Álvaro Galindo deserves huge credit for steadying the ship and the team now looks full of belief and has weapons all over the pitch.

If they are to win the title, they will have to do it the hard way, with potential away games in both knockout matches.

Capibaras’ debut season has been so impressive that a third-placed finish was greeted with disappointment in some quarters, as a home semi-final looked within their reach just a couple of weeks ago.

The team’s season will not be judged on this defeat. It will be defined by the coming weeks, in which the franchise will look to make history.

Selknam finish on a high

By the time Selknam kicked off against Cobras, they knew that a semi-final appearance was out of reach, but they still gave their fans an end of season treat, scoring six tries in their 45-12 win in Santiago.

The hosts’ scrum was dominant from the start and yielded a penalty try with just six minutes played.

The Chileans quickly added to their lead in style when they burst through the Cobras defence out wide before Nicolás Saab showed quick hands to find Lucas Berti, who raced in unopposed.

Berti doubled his tally just minutes later when he dived over in the corner after Santiago Montagner held off multiple defenders to set up the scrum-half.

Tireless backrower Raimundo Martínez forced his way over close to the ruck to ensure Selknam led 28-0 at the break.

The hosts picked up where they had left off and Berti capped off a superb individual display with his hat-trick score just two minutes into the half.

Once again, he ran an excellent supporting line to ensure he was on hand to finish off a flowing Selknam attack.

Berti’s replacement Marcelo Torrealba was obviously keen to get in on the action and managed it just moments after coming off the bench.

Too little, too late

The scrum-half was on hand to receive an offload from Ernesto Tchimino after a surging run, before showing quick feet to beat the last defender and score.

Determined not to end the final game of the season scoreless, Cobras burst into life.

Joao Amaral ran a great line to pierce the defence for the Brazilians’ first try, before Rosko Specman finished off a fine individual campaign with a breakaway try.

The hosts had the final word, however, when Martínez shrugged off several tacklers on his way to the line.

Selknam will rue their slow start to the season and last week’s late collapse against Pampas, and will have to watch as the play-offs take place without them.

Nevertheless, there have been positives this season, highlighted in this game by the performance of Lucas Berti, who has had a standout season at just 22.

Cobras finished bottom of the table yet again and, while they did not repeat 2025’s winless campaign, they will be disappointed that they couldn’t do more.

The additions of foreign talent in the form of Rosko Specman clearly added something to their attack, but they never managed to resolve the issue of their porous defence.

Semi-final showdown

The first semi-final will take place in Córdoba, where Dogos will host Tarucas.

The visitors will arrive as underdogs, but have looked back to their very best in recent weeks and will be confident they can go all the way.

The second semi-final sees Pampas host Capibaras in Buenos Aires, with the hosts determined to shake off their reputation for underperforming in the playoffs.

Capibaras’ head coach Nicolás Galatro knows how to navigate the playoffs, having won the tournament with Dogos in 2024, and will be confident he can guide his team through.

READ MORE: 2026 Super Rugby Americas – Round 13 summary: Dogos clinch home semi-final amid play-off drama